There are a handful of rebetiko “families” – siblings who performed together or separately, fathers and children, uncles and nieces and nephews – who did same. One of those families was Stellakis and Vangelis Perpiniadis.
Stellakis – guitarist, composer and singer – was one of the best-known interpreters of early rebetiko, appearing on dozens of recordings that are considered classics of the genre. His son, Vangelis, was born in 1927 in Kokkino, a suburb of Athens and, while he originally started training as a cantor in the Greek Orthodox Church, he was soon attracted to the music that his father was making.
Vangelis made his first public appearance as a singer of popular songs in 1947 and his first appearance on record as second voice, with Anna Chrysafi, in 1953. Three years later, he released his first solo record of his composition Cry for me, friends, cry for me. He continued to perform and record throughout the 1950s and, in 1960, scored a major hit with his song Alexandra’s news.
He continued to perform popular songs, as well as older rebetiko, late into the 20th century, on stages and at festivals throughout Greece and internationally in Australia, the U.S. and Canada. Discogs.com lists 324 single and EP releases, as well as 27 albums and tracks on 40 compilations.
Cry for me, friends, cry for me is a death-bed lament:
Weep for me friends, weep for me
and you enemies rejoice
that I am leaving life
and you will never see me again.
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