Elpida Karayiannopoulou (, born October 1, 1949), is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

singer who was one of the most successful singers in Greece and the

Greek diaspora The Greek diaspora, also known as Omogenia (), are the communities of Greeks living outside of Greece and Cyprus. Such places historically (dating to the ancient period) include, Greeks in Albania, Albania, Greeks in North Macedonia, North Maced ...

in the 1970s and 1980s. Known professionally as just Elpida, she released 17 original albums in her 25-year recording history, and regularly topped fever charts run by the Greek state broadcaster,

Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly shortened to ERT (), is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Greece. History Overview ERT began broadcasting in 1938 as the Radio Broadcasting Service or YRE (). Followin ...

(ERT). Internationally, she was known for being a two-time entrant to the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

, representing Greece in 1979 with the song " Sokrati" which placed 8th and Cyprus in 1986 with " Tora zo" which came 20th (and last).

Early life

Elpida Karayiannopoulou was born in Spercheiada,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

; at 14, she moved to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

with her two older brothers to study. Upon finishing school, she wished to be an architect, but instead began to study

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

while working at the same time.

Career

Elpida began her singing career in 1970 when she became the singer of an orchestra and subsequently recorded an album with them. In 1972, she participated in Thessaloniki Music Festival with the song "Den Ton Eida" (Δεν τον είδα, ''I didn't see him'') and was introduced to the public. The same year she also recorded her first solo album, which was presented live with fellow singers

George Dalaras George Dalaras (, born 29 September 1949) is a Greek singer and musician. He is one of the most prominent figures of Greek music. In October 2006, he was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Piraeus. His ...

Giannis Parios Yiannis Parios () is a Greek singer, with a career spanning five decades. Biography Yiannis Parios was born Ioannis Varthakouris (Ιωάννης Βαρθακούρης) on the island of Paros. He made his first appearance as a singer in 1969 ...

, Tolis Voskopoulos, , Giannis Poulopoulos, Haris Alexiou, and

Grigoris Bithikotsis Grigoris Bithikotsis (Greek Γρηγόρης Μπιθικώτσης, ; December 11, 1922 – April 7, 2005) was a Greek folk singer/songwriter with a career spanning five decades. He is considered one of the most important figures in Greek popular ...

. In 1973, ERT deemed Elpida the most popular singer in the country at that time. Elpida went on to take part in 13 festivals similar to those of Thessaloniki including Tokyo in 1974 where she placed second and the winner of Viña del Mar Festival in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in 1975 with the song "Pos Pes Mou Pos". She received various awards such as the "Reward of Interpretation" in Poland, and a reward for television in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. She also made a lot of television appearances in Latin America, Spain, Germany, England, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, the Scandinavian Countries and made several television appearances in Israel. In 1979, Elpida was chosen to take part in the

to represent Greece. She sang the song " Sokrati" (Σωκράτη, ''Socrates'') and placed eighth, receiving 69 points from the 19 participating countries. She released an album which reached gold sales in Israel and reached No. 6 in the local charts in Portugal. Seven years later, she appeared at Eurovision once more, in 1986, but representing Cyprus. She sang " Tora zo" (Τώρα ζω, ''Now I Live''), but with less success than in 1979, only garnering four points, and placing 20th (last). 1988 saw the release of the album ''Flas'' from which the song "Opos Se Thelo S'oneirevomai" became a radio hit. In 1994, her sixteenth studio album was released titled ''Mes Ti Nihta Hathika'', with music by Thanasis Kargidis and Panos Falaras.

Personal life

Elpida married in 1979 and gave birth to her first child, a girl named Hera, in 1980. Her second child, Stephanos, was born in 1985 and led to her absence from the music industry for four years as she spent time with her family.

Discography

*1972: ''Den Ton Eida'' *1973: ''Elpida'' *1975: ''Koita To Fos'' *1975: ''Epi Skinis'' *1976: ''Elpida'' *1978: ''Borei'' *1979: ''Sokrati'' *1979: ''Elpida'' *1979: ''Ta Oraiotera Tragoudia Mou'' (compilation) *1981: ''Me Tin Elpida'' *1983: ''Me Logia Apla'' *1987: ''Flas'' *1988: ''16 Apo Ta Oraiotera Tragoudia'' (compilation) *1989: ''Ela na Paizoume'' *1990: ''Tragoudontas Tis Epohes, 10'' *1990: ''Selida 16'' *1992: ''To Palio Na Legetai'' *1994: ''Mes Sti Nihta Hathika'' *1994: "Zileia"/"Kameno Harti" (maxi single) *1995: ''To Lathos Kai To Pathos'' *1997: ''Me Tragoudia Kai Logia ta Oraiotera Mou, 1972–87'' (compilation)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elpida 1950 births Living people People from Spercheiada 20th-century Greek women singers Thessaloniki Song Festival entrants Eurovision Song Contest entrants