Prodromos Tsaousakis

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Prodromos Tsaousakis, really Prodromos Moutafoglou, was a popular Greek rebetiko singer, songwriter and composer. He was born in 1919 in Constantinople and at the age of three moved with his family to Thessaloniki. At a young age he became a professional wrestler. In 1940 he volunteered for the Greek army. During the Greco-Italian War he was promoted to sergeant for his courage, and that is how he got the nickname Tsaousakis, derived from the Turkish word for sergeant. During the German occupation he was arrested and tortured.

Music and breakthrough

In 1942 he met Anna Kadoglou, whom he married a year later. He was then singing with various bands in Thessaloniki and got to know Vassilis Tsitsanis. His recording career began in 1946 and he quickly became famous. Until 1951 he worked with Tsitsanis, who wrote several of his best-known songs with his voice in mind. Later he also worked with other composers, such as Giannis Papaioannou, Giorgos Mitsakis and Apostolos Kaldaras.

Influence

From 1955 his career went downhill, partly because of the rise of Stelios Kazantzidis. Tsaousakis died in 1979 of a heart attack in Kallithea. His voice belongs to the rebetiko of the 1940s, the Greek urban music that developed from the world of port cities and working-class neighbourhoods. His collaboration with Tsitsanis was the most important of his career.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1994Πρόδρομος Τσαουσάκης