Manos Loïzos
Born(1937-10-22)22 October 1937
Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt
Died17 September 1982(1982-09-17) (aged 44)
Moscow, USSR
Occupation(s)Composer

Manos Loïzos (Greek: Μάνος Λοΐζος; 1937–1982) was one of the most important Greek music composers of the 20th century.

Biography

He was born on 22 October 1937 to Greek Cypriot immigrants in Alexandria, Egypt. His parents came from the small village of Agioi Vavatsinias, in the district of Larnaca, Cyprus.[1] Loizos moved to Athens at the age of 17 intending to study pharmacology but soon gave up his studies in order to concentrate on his musical career. He was a self-taught musician, with no formal musical arts training. His first recordings were made in 1963 but he started gaining a larger audience after 1967. By 1975 Loizos had become one of the most popular artists in Greek music.

He died on 17 September 1982 in a hospital in Moscow, Soviet Union after suffering several strokes. He was well known for his leftist political ideology and was an outspoken critic of the Greek military junta. He was also an active member of the Greek Communist Party. The year 2007 was declared "Manos Loizos Year" in Greece.

Discography

He composed many well-known Greek songs and has co-operated with various important composers, singers and lyricists like Mikis Theodorakis, Haris Alexiou, George Dalaras, Vasilis Papakonstantinou, Christos Leontis, Fondas Ladis, Yannis Negrepontis, Manolis Rasoulis, Giannis Kalatzis, Nâzım Hikmet and many others. His best known co-operation was with his very personal friend, lyricist Lefteris Papadopoulos who wrote the lyrics of many of Loizos' most successful hits.

Some of Loizos' most famous songs are :

  • "Ola se thymizoun (Everything Reminds Me of You)" Lyrics: Manolis Rassoulis
  • "Jamaica" Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos
  • "S' Akoloutho (I follow you)" Lyrics: himself
  • "To Akordeon (The Accordion)" Lyrics: Yannis Negrepontis
  • "O Dromos (The Street)" Lyrics: Kostoula Mitropoulos
  • "Che" (dedicated to Che Guevara) Lyrics: himself
  • "Ah Helidoni mu (Ah, my swallow)" Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos
  • "De Tha Ksanagapiso (I Shall not Love Again)" Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos
  • "Paporaki tou Burnova (Paporaki of Burnova)" Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos
  • "O Koutalianos" Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos
  • "Evdokia" (Instrumental Zeibekiko)
  • "Kalimera Ilie (Goodmorning Sun)" Lyrics: Manos Loizos. During the 1981-1989 period the song was used as trademark by the political movement PASOK

In 1985, a big concert dedicated to his memory took place in the Athens Olympic Stadium, attended by more than 50,000 people with singers George Dalaras, Haris Alexiou, Giannis Kalatzis, Dimitra Galani and Vasilis Papakonstantinou performing. Manos Loizos' songs and music remain popular until today among all ages of the Greek society.

Studio albums

Year Title Chart positions Certification
GRE[2] CYP[3]
1968 O Stathmos

(Greek: Ο Σταθμός; English: The Station)

 — —
1970 Thalassografies

(Greek: Θαλασσογραφίες; English: Sea Drawings)

 — —
1971 Evdokia

(Greek: Ευδοκία)

  • 1st soundtrack album
  • Movie Evdokia was directed by Alexis Damianos
  • Released: December 1971
  • Language: Greek
  • Label: Minos EMI
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD
 — —
1972 Na Chame Ti Na Chame

(Greek: Να ‘Χαμε Τι Να ‘Χαμε; English: If We Had)

 — —
1974 Kalimera Ilie

(Greek: Καλημέρα Ήλιε; English: Goodmorning Sun)

  • 4th studio album
  • Lyrics by Dimitris Christodoulou
  • Lyrics of the album were censored due to dictatorship.
  • Singers of the album were Kostas Smokovitis, Haris Alexiou and Aleka Aliberti.
  • Recording sessions were made in November 1973 during riots against the Greek military junta.
  • Self-titled song has been used as the anthem of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement since 1974. In 2011, Myrsini Loïzou, Manos’ daughter, forbade the use of the song as political anthem due to severe disapproval of the government's policy.
  • Released: April 1974
  • Language: Greek
  • Label: Minos EMI
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD
 - -
1974 Tragoudia Tou Dromoy

(Greek: Τραγούδια Του Δρόμου; English: Songs of the Road)

 - -
1975 Ta Negrika

(Greek: Τα Νέγρικα; English: The Negro Songs)

  • 6th studio album
  • Lyrics by Yiannis Negrepontis
  • All songs of the album sung by Maria Farantouri.
  • Released: November 1975
  • Language: Greek
  • Label: Minos EMI
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette
 - -
1976 Ta Tragoudia Mas

(Greek: Τα Τραγούδια Μας; English: Our Songs)

 1 1
1979 Ta Tragoudia Tis Haroulas

(Greek: Τα Τραγούδια Της Χαρούλας; English: Haroula’s Songs)

  • 8th studio album
  • Lyrics by Manolis Rasoulis and Pythagoras.
  • All songs of the album sung by Haris Alexiou. Includes one of her biggest hits ‘Ola Se Thimizoun’. Manos Loïzos and Dimitra Galani assisted with backing vocals in most of the album's songs.
  • Due to heavy criticism by the media, the album had failed to chart for four months after its release. Further promotion by Alexiou helped album sales rise to platinum status.
  • Released: May 1979
  • Language: Greek
  • Label: Minos EMI
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette
 1 1
1980 Gia Mia Mera Zoïs

(Greek: Για Μια Μέρα Ζωής; English: For One Day’s Life)

 - —
1983 Grammata stin agapimeni

(Greek: Γράμματα στην αγαπημένη; English: Letters To The Beloved One)

  • Posthumous release.
  • Lyrics by Nâzım Hikmet.
  • Manos Loizos sung himself all the album's songs.
  • The album is a compilation of previously unreleased recordings made by Loïzos sporadically throughout his career.
  • Released: October 1983
  • Language: Greek
  • Label: Minos EMI
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette
 — —

References

  1. ↑ "Ayii Vavatsinias" (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  2. ↑ Greek Charts Retrieved 2011-09-02.
  3. ↑ "Cypriot Charts". Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
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