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Rock in Greece: 10 Top Artists & Their Songs - '70s & '80s

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Greece Is Much More Than Zorba

The current of controversy that rocked Europe in the '60s took a little longer to take its roots in Greece. Still, rock'n'roll was already popular since past decades and musicians were ready to engender their own take of pure rock, progressive and psychedelic music, quite often giving it a special character more keen to a Greek sound.

While music per se was a concern, most artists relied heavily on lyrics to convey messages of freedom, humanity and solidarity in the spirit of the epoch and as a means of denouncing the strict and despiteful military junta that ruled Greece at the time.

The songs featuring here were chosen in an attempt to present some of the most influential artists of the time, and not by order of sales or weeks in charts. One may be surprised at the variety and, sometimes, at the evident rock culture of the musicians.

Photo credit: nzgabriel, Flickr

#1. Angel Announcer -- Anghelos Exanghelos

by Dionysis Savvopoulos

I read somewhere that the music of the song was written by Bob Dylan. The lyrics are by Dionysis himself.
The song speaks of a man that appeared out of the blue in a community. Ha hung around for a while, enjoying company and the luxuries that a gathering of people can offer, observing life unfolding around him, seemingly pleasing and easy-going, participating in the overall everyday give-and-take and shamelessly soft-soaping his hosts.

Suddenly, one day, as if opening his eyes for the first time on the vapidity of everything surounding him, or as if he could no longer keep his mouth shut about it, or even as if he no longer cared about people's opinion for he absolutely disdained them, he set on reviling their attitude.

The news I brought you stroke your ears
But they're far removed from truth

Still, those fake news had served him long enough.

The song was first released in 1972

#2. Garyfale

by Peloma Bokiou

Garyfalos is a simple, uneducated man with a heart of gold, who has the gift of speaking in a straightforward and vivid manner, drifting his audience away, making them laugh and cry through his talks. One day, as is human destiny, Garyfalos dies and goes to heaven, now talking with angels.
The band were united in 1969 and released several singles and only one LP album (1972) before they were disbanded.

#3. Come, My Sun - Ela Ilie Mou

by Poll

A very popular band from the early '70s. Their songs pertain to the purest Woodstock tradition, in the sense that they celebrate love, freedom, innocence, and the faith that man is capable of changing the world through positive action and solidarity.
when you see birds flying away to the sun
they mock cages
The song was first released as a single in 1971.

#4. Every Dream Comes To An End

by Socrates (Drank The Conium)

A capital band in the Greek music scene of the '70s, Socrates (as they shortened their name for brevity's sake) were also the first rock band to make an international career for themselves with successful Europe tours and a #1 hit in the US ('On the wings', 1973), thus opening the path to more talented musicians of the epoch.
They prefered English verse -- this one's an instrumental song from their 1975 album "Phos" featuring Vangelis Papathanasiou.

#5. The Four Horsemen

by Aphrodite's Child

The band's psychedelic/progressive rock album '666', one of the early cult albums in rock history, was an adaptation of passages from The Apocalypse of John. It was released in 1972, while AC enjoyed a reputation in Europe. The band was not to stay united for long though - two of its members, Vangelis Papathanassiou and Demis Roussos, soon left to pursue successful solo careers.

#6. Grandma's Fairy Tales - Ta Paramythia Tis Giagias

by Nostradamos

The band began its career by playing as support group at Peloma Bokiou's concerts and very soon made a huge name for themselves.
In this featured song, released in 1972, a boy dreams about being a hero in his grandma's fairy tales, a fighter and a brave one to follow his soul's commandments, to bring glory and joy wherever he went, and to do all he could to make this world a living dream. Only that grandma died one day, and kids have no one to tell fairy tales anymore.

#7. (Keep) Loving Me - Na M' Agapas

by Pavlos Sidiropoulos

A well-known love ballad in Greece. A boy's life can sometimes be plain, overwhelming, or just a little stuck on meaningless gestures and trivialities. People don't always walk on the sunny side - but as long as there is the reference point of a woman's love, things just can't be that bad.
The song was written for the movie "The Uncompromising One" (1979) starring the singer.

#8. Venceremos

by Nikolas Asimos

Nikolas Asimos barely got involved with Greek recording industry - while he was alive, only 17 among the 110+ songs he wrote and sang were included in albums. All the rest he recorded on tapes which he sold on his stall or he distributed through friends. He was a hardline artist and person, squarely standing with freedom of thought and expression on all levels.
This song speaks of the magic generated and maintained in a loving relationship which can give meaning to a cold, indifferent, even hostile world. It was included in V.Papakonstantinou's (see below) album "Hairetismata" which was circulated in 1987, one year before Nikolas' death.

#9. The Black Cat - O Mavros Gatos

by Vassilis Papakonstantinou

This one's a fox - every night he dresses up as groom and pays visit to eager girls who think they can capture and marry him. The black cat keeps slipping away, until the status quo decides that they're not to tolerate having bastard cats around, because this could mean social upheavals. So they frame and execute him. The song's moral is somewhat unexpected:
If you have a daughter, keep her innocent,
for the cat may not appear - but other animals will (certainly) come by.
It was released in 1984.

#10. Trip-Loving Soul - Taksidiara Psychi

by Trypes

What does one do when a friend/mate is only interested in getting high and following his/her urges? The realisation that someone close to you is cought up in the endless drudgery of getting a fix with substances and with the pursuit of void experiences can lead to the decision to not follow this person through his/her downward spiralling towards self-destruction.
Still, it is separation from a person dear to you, and this may generate some pretty intense feelings.
Trip-loving soul, as much as I want to,
it's tough staying beside you,
It's time I looked after my own life,
I won't wait for you for this trip
The song appeared in the album "Trypes" (="Holes"),1985.

About The Author

Did you like our Greek rock party?

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EileenSmith Dec 24, 2011 @ 2:53 pm | delete

Man, I'll have to listen to more from these artists. Super-interesting lens!

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StevenCousley Jul 7, 2011 @ 2:58 am | delete

Thank you for introducing these new muscians. Well, most of them are new to me, anyway. :)

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simplyoasis May 16, 2011 @ 11:49 pm | delete

Thanks for sharing these.

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May 10, 2011 @ 7:35 am | delete

awesome lens

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Waxing-Lyrical May 8, 2011 @ 11:46 pm | delete

I know Aphrodite's Child, along with Vangelis and Demis Roussos, but the others are all new to me. Thanks for the intro to them :)

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GiftsBonanza May 8, 2011 @ 8:29 am | delete

I can honestly say I have never heard any of these before - thanks for sharing

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Greek music of the '70s and '80s was influenced by rock trends of the time. Musicians wrote in Greek and English verse, experimenting with the genre,... more »

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