Prodromos Tsaousakis (born Prodromos Moutafoglou) started out as professional wrestler and fought with the Greek army against the German invaders – he was captured and tortured at one point – before he launched a singing career that made him an essential Greek performer.
In the mid-1940s, he began performing in taverns in Thessaloniki, where he met Vasilis Tsitsanis. Tsitsanis relocated to Athens in 1946 when recorded resumed after the Greek civil war and convinced Tsaousakis to join him. Tsitsanis also gave him the name Tsaousakis, from the word for sergeant, the rank he had achieved in the Greek Army.
The collaboration between Tsaousakis and Tsitsanis lasted until 1951, recording dozens of songs. They included his performance with Sotiria Bellou on Cloudy Sunday, still one of the most loved songs in Greece. While Tsaousakis’s later career was over shadowed by the emergence of Stelios Kazantzidis, he continued to perform and record until his death in 1979.
His discography is extensive and, after his death, at least a dozen compilation albums featuring his work have been released.
Sit Down and Listen to a Pauper, was the first Tsitsanis song that Tsaousakis recorded, launching his career.
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