Giorgos Zampetas

• Name — Giorgos Zampetas • Born — 25 January 1925 • Birthplace — Akadimia Platonos, Athens, Greece • Origin — Kythnos, Greece • Died — 10 March 1992 • Place of death — Athens, Greece • Genre — Rebetiko, laiko • Occupation — Musician, songwriter, artist, composer • Instrument — Bouzouki • Years Active — 1950–1992

Giorgos Zampetas, Greek music composer, singer, and one of the greatest bouzouki artists was born on 25 January 1925, in Akadimia Platonos. His parents were Mihalis Zampetas, a barber, and Marika Moraiti, the niece of a well-known baritone of those years. From a very young age, Zampetas showed a great interest in music: as he was helping his father in his barber shop, he secretly played his first melodies on a bouzouki. Anything that was producing sound seemed exciting to him and helped him in his compositions, as he said in his biography, not long before he died. In 1932, as a seven-year-old first grader, he won his first prize, playing his first song in a school competition. At the young age of 13, Giorgos met one of the most famous figures in Greek music, and one of his idols, Vassilis Tsitsanis which played a fundamental role in his musical career. During the German occupation of Greece, Zampetas founded his first band in 1942, after having moved to the Egaleo neighborhood of Athens, 2 years prior to that.

Zampetas was one of the most recognized Greek musicians of all time, working in the Greek cinema of those years with stars such as Aliki Vouyouklaki. He appeared in many Greek film productions, and his compositions were used in many, one of the most famous being "Siko Horepse Sirtaki". He also worked with famous Greek composers, such as Manos Hadjidakis in 1959, and thereafter collaborated with various leading Greek musicians such as Theodorakis, Stavros Xarchakos, and many others.

The 1990s brought about new records and releases by Zampetas. However, in early 1992, his health deteriorated and he was diagnosed with bone cancer, which had already reached advanced stages. Zampetas died at the age of 67, in the Sotiria Hospital of Athens. Prior to that, he had made one final stage appearance. He was survived by family in Greece, as well as extended family members throughout the Greek diaspora.

Below is a brief list of some of Zampetas' most recognisable songs; in brackets are the year of creation and the name of the lyricist: • Το κουτούκι (1960, Eftihia Papagianopoulou) • Δεν έχει δρόμο να διαβώ (1963, Dimitris Christodoulou) • Κι αν θα διαβείς τον ουρανό (1964, Dimitris Christodoulou) • Πόρτα κλειστή τα χείλη σου (1964, Dimitris Christodoulou) • Τα δειλινά (1964, Charalampos Vasiliadis) • Ξημερώματα (1965, Dimitris Christodoulou) • Με το βοριά (1965, Dimitris Christodoulou) • Μεσάνυχτα που θα σε βρω (1965, Dimitris Christodoulou) • Σήκω χόρεψε συρτάκι (1965, Alekos Sakelarios) • Χαμόγελο (1965, Alekos Sakelarios) • Το Φανταράκι (1965, Γ. Φέρρης, στη ταινία "Μερικές το προτιμούν χακί") • Η Κυριακή (1965, Alekos Sakelarios) • Θεσσαλονίκη (1965, Elias Eliopoulos) • Πάρε τον δρόμο τον παλιό (1966, Dimitris Christodoulou) • Δημήτρη μου Δημήτρη μου (1966, Alekos Sakelarios) • Σταλιά, σταλιά (1967, Dionisis Jeffronis) • Ποιος είναι αυτός (1968, Pythagoras) • Έρχομαι έρχομαι (1968, Pythagoras) • Τι να φταίει (1969, Dimitris Christodoulou) • Αγωνία (1970, Charalambos Vasiliadis)