Kostas Tsanakos, another of the skilled singers who was born in Smyrna and fled with his family to Athens, recorded several dozen rebetiko songs throughout the 1930s and ’40s, many of them compositions by Kostas Karipis.
Tsanakos was interesting: while he worked as an accountant, he opened a tavern next to his house in Kaisariani, a municipality set up for the Asia Minor refugees that is now part of the greater Athens. According to reports the tavern is the only place he sang publicly, primarily for his friends.
His recordings covered both Smyrneika and Pireotiko rebetiko styles, and he was accompanied on record by skilled studio musicians, including Dimitris Semsis. Tsanakos is also credited with lyrics for several songs.
We Are the Same Now, the song of a spurned lover, was recorded in 1938. It was written by Karipis, with lyrics by Giorgos Petropouleas
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