Πάμε στο τεκέ μου

For those who listen to rebetiko, Stratos Pagioumtzis has one of the most familiar voices of the classic era. 

Pagioumtzis, born in Asia Minor in 1904, was the primary singer in the ground-breaking Famous Quartet of Piraeus, and one of the biggest recording artists of the time. He worked with all the major composers. 

In all, he recorded over 400 songs during a long career, which was interrupted by a brief internal exile to the island of Sifnos for hashish use, but which resumed with his return to Athens. He died in 1971 of a stroke after a performance in a New York nightclub.

The Fisherman was written by Giorgos Matsakis and recored in 1947. From the lyrics: I know how to take care of the woman I have / And I know how to make her happy / Don’t look down on me because I’m a fisherman.