Zacharias Kasimatis was one of the great rebetiko singers, despite a rather small output. He recorded around 50 songs between 1931 and 1950, but he was the first to sing on record such classics as The Manges of Votanikos (a neghbourhood in Athens) and Of Aman, both written by Spyros Peristeris. As a composer, Kasimatis worked with Peristeris on arranging and recording a number of traditional songs.
Kasimatis was born in Smyrna in 1896 and learned music there, singing and playing mandolin with the well-known orchestra Ta Politika. He escaped from Smyrna and reached Greece in 1923 where he resumed his music career, switching from mandolin to guitar. He performed with rebetika and folk bands from the 1920s through to his death in 1965, sometimes as a singer and sometimes as a guitarist.
Of Aman, recorded in 1933, was written by Peristeris and is full-on classic rebetiko:
“I was born drunk, och aman …/ Why do you keep saying, och aman / My doll, how you don’t want me.”
In the song, Kasimatis sings both “Οf aman” and “Οch aman,” (Όχ αμάν in Greek). The later is more common as an exclamation in much rebetiko music.
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