Yiannis Drogatsis, also known as Ogdontakis, was one of the leading musicians to write and play Smyrneika rebtiko in the classic era.
Before arriving Greece, he had played violin with a family band, and was already known as an accomplished violinist, in Smyrna. Once in Greece, he started playing with other refugees from Asia Minor, such as Antonis Dalgas, and composing.
He was named recording director at Columbia Records in Athens and took part in hundreds of recordings. Many of the songs he wrote and recorded are now considered classics.
He stopped playing in the 1940s, largely because of the Metaxas ban on eastern-sounding rebetiko and then the Nazi invasion, and did not return to recording or composing after the war, although he continued to play and to teach violin.
Manolis the Hashish Smoker was recorded by several of the leading artists of the late 1920s and early 1930s. This version is by Zacharias Hasimatis, from 1930.
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