“Ta Mesiméria Tis Kyriakís” (1973) – Manolis Mitsias

“Ta Mesiméria Tis Kyriakís” (1973) – Manolis Mitsias * Written by Giorgios Hatzinasios and Yiannis Logothelis * Arrangements by Giorgios Hatzinasios * LP: Echei o Theos * Label: His Master’s Voice

Something you see a lot of in Greek laika (popular folk) music—maybe more than in any other genre—are albums that bill the songwriters above the singers. The 1973 album Echei o Theos (God willing), for example, features the voices of Manolis Mitsias and Demetra Galani, but it’s the songwriters Giorgios Hatzinasios (music) and Yiannis Logothelis (lyrics) you see listed first. On the song “Ta Mesiméria Tis Kyriakís” (Sunday afternoons), the value of songwriters in Greek culture gets further emphasis when Mitsias sings of relaxing to the songs of rebetiko pioneer Markos Vamvakaris.

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