Prodromos Moutafoglou (, September 15, 1919 – October 23, 1979), better known by his stage name Prodromos Tsaousakis (Πρόδρομος Τσαουσάκης), was a popular
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 ...
rebetiko
Rebetiko (, ), plural rebetika ( ), occasionally transliterated as rembetiko or rebetico, is a term used to designate previously disparate kinds of urban Greek music which in the 1930s went through a process of musical syncretism and develope ...
singer, songwriter and composer.
Biography
Tsaousakis was born in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
,
Greek religious base. At the age of three, he moved with his family to
Thessaloníki. He became a professional wrestler at a young age and volunteered to the Greek army in 1940. During the
Greco-Italian War he was promoted to
sergeant
Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
for his bravery and gained the nickname ''Tsaousakis'' (from
Tchaoush, , i.e. sergeant). He was arrested and tortured during the
German occupation.
In 1942, Tsaousakis met Anna Kadoglou and married her a year later. At that time, Tsaousakis sung with various bands in Thessaloniki and met
Vassilis Tsitsanis. Tsaousakis' recording career started in 1946 and he quickly rose to fame. He worked until 1951 with Tsitsanis, who wrote several of his great songs inspired by Tsaousakis' voice. In later years, Tsaousakis cooperated with other composers such as
Giannis Papaioannou,
Giorgos Mitsakis, and
Apostolos Kaldaras.
From 1955 onward, his career started to decline, partially due to the appearance of
Stelios Kazantzidis.
Tsaousakis died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on October 23, 1979, in
Kallithea
Kallithea (Greek language, Greek: Καλλιθέα, meaning "beautiful view") is a suburb in Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration and a municipality in South Athens (regional unit), south Athens regional unit. It is the eighth larges ...
,
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 ...
.
External links
Πρόδρομος Τσαουσάκης - Μεγάλο Αφιέρωμα
1919 births
1979 deaths
Rebetiko musicians
Constantinopolitan Greeks
20th-century Greek male singers
Greek laïko singers
Singers from Thessaloniki
Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece
Singers from Istanbul
People from Fatih
People of the Greco-Italian War
Greek torture victims
Greek military personnel of World War II
{{Greece-singer-stub