Stratos Dionysiou
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Stratos Dionysiou (; November 8, 1935 – May 11, 1990), nicknamed "To Geraki tis Pistas" (The hawk of the stage), was 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, composer and lyricist.


Early life

Stratos Dionysiou was born on November 8, 1935, in Nigrita, Serres. He was the son of Angelos and Stasa Dionysiou, refugees from Ayvali in Asia Minor. In 1947, he moved to Eptalofos of Ampelokipi, Thessaloniki. A year later, his father passed away. In 1955 he married his childhood love, Georgia Laveni, with whom they had four children: Angelos, Tasoula, Stelios and Diamantis. He was a fan of PAOK.


Singing career


Early career

At first he sang for free in nightclubs and after working as a peddler and tailor, he debuted as a professional singer at the nightclub "Farida" in Thessaloniki. From his first appearances in the 1950's, Dionysiou attracted the interest of some artists, who urged him to come down to Athens to make more important collaborations. Dionysiou left
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
for
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 ...
to further his singing career. He appeared in Nikaia nightclub "Asteras" with well-established singer Kaity Grey and in 1958 recorded his first song, "Parages kai PalatIa" (Shacks and Palaces). A year later he recorded a song by Xristos Kolokotronis, "Ego den eimai enoxos" (I am not Guilty). The song was very successful, because it was released around the same time when
Caryl Chessman Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted robber, kidnapper, serial rapist, and writer who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was charged with 17 ...
's execution happened, and people drew connections between the song's lyrics and title and Chessman's death sentence. However, Dionysiou's voice was often mistaken for
Stelios Kazantzidis Stelios Kazantzidis (Greek: Στέλιος Καζαντζίδης; 29 August 1931 – 14 September 2001) was one of the most prominent Greek singers. He was of Pontian and Asia Minor roots. A top artist of Greek music, or Laïkó, he collaborat ...
' voice. Dionysiou signed a contract with recording company "Columbia" and started singing songs by Xristos Kolokotronis, Babis Bakalis, Kostas Virvos, and others with some success. He also re-recorded old, pre-war and WW2-era rebetiko-gerne songs by
Vassilis Tsitsanis Vassilis Tsitsanis ( 18 January 1915 – 18 January 1984) was a Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern Rebetiko and Laiko music. Tsi ...
, Yiannis Papaioannou, Giorgos Mitsakis and
Manolis Chiotis Manolis Chiotis (Greek: Μανώλης Χιώτης; March 21, 1921 – March 21, 1970) was a Greek rebetiko and laiko composer, singer, and bouzouki player.English translation He is considered one of the greatest bouzouki soloists of all time. H ...
. Huge success, however, did not come until the late 1960s, when he turned several Akis Panou songs into hits: "Και τι δεν κάνω" (What don't I do), "Γιατί καλέ γειτόνισσα" (Why, my good neighbour?), "Του κόσμου το περίγελο" (The laughing stock of the World), "Εγώ καλά σου τα 'λεγα" (I told you so), "Στο σταθμό του Μονάχου" (At Munich Station), "Ήταν ψεύτικα" (They were false) and many others. During his time working at Columbia, he also sang remakes of Indian songs such as "Kardia mou kaimeni" (My poor heart), remake of the Indian song ''Duniya mein hum aaye hain,'' featured in the 1957 movie
Mother India ''Mother India'' is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film '' Aurat'' (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village wo ...
. In the nightclub "SOU-MOU" where he appeared, he was the second most popular singer, he sang along with female singer Anthoula Alifragki. It's the same nightclub where
Mimis Plessas Dimitrios "Mimis" Plessas (; 12 October 1924 – 5 October 2024) was a Greek musician, composer, conductor and pianist. Life and career Plessas was born in Athens. He attended the Lycée Léonin school in the Athens suburb of Nea Smyrni, and ...
heard him in 1969 and after two months he wrote the legendary
zeibekiko Zeibekiko (, ) is a Greek dances, Greek folk dance, similar to Turkish Zeybek (dance), Zeybek dance. Origin and history It takes its name from the Zeybeks, an irregular militia living in the Aegean Region of the Ottoman Empire from late 17th ...
"Vrehi fotia stin strata mou" (Fire is raining down my path) with lyrics by
Lefteris Papadopoulos Lefteris (Eleftherios) Papadopoulos (; born 14 November 1935) is a Greek lyricist, writer and journalist. Lefteris Papadopoulos was born in Athens, Greece on 14 November 1935. He was the son of Greek Pontian refugees, with a father from a vill ...
. The song was featured in the 1970 movie "Oratotis Miden" (Zero Visibility) starring Nikos Kourkoulos. Then Dionysiou released the successful songs "O paliatzis", "Baglamades ki bouzoukia", "Enas aitos gremiste", "Agapi mou epikindini" and "Aphilotimi". In the early 1970s, he collaborated with Haris Alexiou, Lizeta Nikolaou and Sofi Pappa in
Backing Vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
. Dionysiou also toured the United States with great success.


Arrest and imprisonment

In 1973 he was arrested for illegal gun possession and
hashish Hashish (; ), usually abbreviated as hash, is a Compression (physics), compressed form of resin (trichomes) derived from the cannabis flowers. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, As a Psychoactive drug, psychoactive ...
found in his car. He himself claimed that it was a conspiracy of competitors. He was found innocect of gun possession in 1974, but in 1975, on April 9, the trial of the notorious drug-trafficking case began at the Criminal Court of Thessaloniki. The decision that came out on May 30 sentenced him to imprisonment and exile (the latter was part of the typical sentence for drug-related offences). He was released thanks to an
amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...
from prison in the spring of 1976. At this moment, his colleague and friend Tolis Voskopoulos, who in 1977 wrote and gave him the song "I fell asleep", especially supported him. While in prison, he recorded and released the album "Pali Mazi mas".


Post-release career

The climate in public opinion was heavy. When Dionysiou was released from prison he was faced with rejection. No high-profile company wanted to work with him and no businessman wanted him in their nightclub. But Stratos did not give up. He persisted and finally managed to return to the music scene with the Minos company. The director of the company at the time was Makis Matsas, who viewed the collaboration with Stratos with great reservations. The prison sentence had discredited Dionysiou's career. But for Matsas, there was another big problem. Stelios Kazantzidis was also recording in Minos at the time, and the coexistence of two big names in the same space might have created problems. After pressure that Matsas received from Dionysiou, they finally signed a contract with discouraging conditions for the singer. If the first record they would make did not exceed 30,000 sales, their collaboration would stop there. Otherwise, they would make two more records on the same terms. The sales of the first album, which had the title "Ypokrinese" (You are pretending), exceeded 100,000 within a few months. Stratos was rewarded for his persistence. The big "comeback" had taken place and the successes followed one another. "I packed up the things", "You took everything and left", "A thin booth" are just some of the songs that Stratos recorded after prison. In the 80s, Stratos Dionysiou broke every sales record. He made very big hits, songs that are not only heard today, but come out on records, in re-runs and in covers. They are more or less the songs that everyone once sang and are still heard on the radio today as if they were new. "You took it all", "And say-say", "Listen, my friend", "The people want a song", "She killed me because I loved her", "I am the stranger", "Remember" and many more. In 1987, he opened his own nightclub named "Stratos", in Filellinon Street.


Personal life

Dionysiou married Georgia Laveni in 1955 and had four children, Angelos, Stelios, Diamantis and Tasoula Dionysiou. Of Stratos' four children, Angelos, Diamantis and Stelios Dionysiou are also singers. His daughter, Tasoula Dionysiou, passed away in April 2012 at the age of 53. From 1980-1989, while married, he had a relationship with Marina Vlaxaki, a singer who was his backing vocalist.


Political views

Although Dionsyiou described himself as a "
New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...
", he believed that everybody was "The same shit", believing that all parties lead to same negative results. He disliked ELAS, due to them letting a
Security Battalions The Security Battalions (, derisively known as ''Germanotsoliades'' (Γερμανοτσολιάδες, meaning "German tsoliás") or ''Tagmatasfalites'' (Ταγματασφαλίτες)) were Greek collaborationist paramilitary groups, formed d ...
commander named Papoulias escape after he bribed them. He was critical of America's influence in Greece, stating, "I believe Greece is being ordered by the big bosses, the Americans, they have separated us for years and we are like plots of land of America. We will do whatever America wants".


Death

Dionysiou died in
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 ...
on May 11, 1990, as a result of
abdominal aortic aneurysm Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a localized enlargement of the abdominal aorta such that the diameter is greater than 3 cm or more than 50% larger than normal. An AAA usually causes no symptoms, except during rupture. Occasionally, abdo ...
at the age of 55. His funeral took place in the
First Cemetery of Athens The First Cemetery of Athens (, ''Próto Nekrotafeío Athinón'') is the official cemetery of the City of Athens and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a prestigious cemetery for Greeks and foreigners. The cemetery is lo ...
. His funeral was attended by hundreds of people as well as other singers and actors. A few hours before his last breath, he was singing in "Stratos", while earlier, that same afternoon, he recorded nine songs for the record "Poios allos" (Who Else) which was released a month after his death, making a sales records. According to
Takis Mousafiris Takis Mousafiris (; 1936 – 11 March 2021) was a Greek composer, lyricist and songwriter. He collaborated with several notable Greek singers such as Stratos Dionysiou, Dimitris Mitropanos, Rita Sakellariou and Tolis Voskopoulos, among others ...
, the last song he recorded that day was "Don't leave me alone".


Legacy

His funeral took the form of
lying in state Lying in state is the tradition in which the body of a deceased official, such as a head of state, is placed in a state building, either outside or inside a coffin, to allow the public to pay their respects. It traditionally takes place in a ...
. For some time people were pushing to get close to the singer's body, while there were women who fainted. Many, in order to be able to see, climbed on neighboring graves, causing damage, which was later paid for by the Dionysiou family. "All roads were closed. I mean, I was speechless. I didn't expect so many simple people loved Stratos. He was, after all, the great popular singer", said Giorgos Polychroniadis, who sang together with Dionysiou. People said goodbye to their favorite singer with songs. Stratos Dionysiou's death left behind songs that are still heard today, but also a great void in Greek music. After Dionysiou's death,
Notis Sfakianakis Panagiotis "Notis" Sfakianakis (; born 2 November 1959) is a Greek singer of folk music, and is one of the most commercially successful artists of all time in Greece and Cyprus. Sfakianakis began his career in 1985, opening at nightclubs for othe ...
released the song "o Stratos" in his honor.


Discography


Posthumous


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dionysiou, Stratos 1935 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Greek male singers Greek laïko singers Greek male songwriters Minos EMI artists Burials at the First Cemetery of Athens Singers from Thessaloniki Greek prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Greece People from Nigrita