Giorgos Dalaras Turns 77: Voice of Modern Greek Song

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Giorgos Dalaras turns 77 today. He was born on 29 September 1949 in Piraeus. Greeks still treat him as one of the central voices of the last half-century: more than 70 solo albums and sales put at more than 15 million.

His father was Loukas Daralas, a rebetiko singer. Dalaras has recorded with almost every major Greek composer of his time — Mikis Theodorakis, Apostolos Kaldaras, Stavros Kouyioumtzis, Yiannis Markopoulos, Manos Loizos, Stavros Xarchakos — and almost every Greek style, plus a Latin set.

He has played thousands of concerts. In 1980 he moved into the live club era. Two nights at the Athens Olympic Stadium drew more than 160,000 people, still cited as the biggest Greek concert crowd of that kind; Rolling Stone later tied him to Greece’s stadium years. He has sung more than 500 times outside Greece. Nelson Mandela invited him to sing on his birthday. The UN Refugee Agency made him a Goodwill Ambassador.

Guitar in hand, the voice is the point — and the taste. Ask 50 people for a “best of” list and you will get 50 lists. Names that keep coming back: 50 Years of Rembetika Songs, the live Ta Tragoudia Mou, Mikra Asia, Rembetika Tis Katohis.

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His first song, “Προσμονή” (Expectation), was cut in 1967, the day tanks were in the streets after the junta coup. The single barely landed. After guest spots he released a self-titled debut on Minos in early 1969. Stavros Kouyioumtzis wrote the early hits and, Dalaras has said, is why he became a singer. They stayed close until Kouyioumtzis died of a heart attack in March 2005. “Πού ’ναι τα χρόνια” from that first LP is still in the book.

Na ’tane to 21 (1970) — a nod to 1821 — was the bigger record: all Kouyioumtzis, including “Na ’tane to 21” and “Κάπου νυχτώνει,” plus an instrumental of “Πού ’ναι τα χρόνια.” Many of those tracks were reinterpretations. Plenty of listeners still think Dalaras wrote them.

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He married Anna Ragousi in 1983. She has managed him and later served as a PASOK MP. They have a daughter, Georgianna. He collects instruments, fishes, and rides.

Xronia polla, Giorgo.

Updated from the Greek City Times archive for 29 September 2026.

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