Anthoula Alifragki was a well-known popular singer who recorded in every decade of the 20th century beginning in the 1950s. While much of her work is best considered laiko, rebetiko was important: her early recordings were firmly in the rebetiko tradition. Throughout her career, she recorded rebetiko alongside more popular laiko songs, and later in her career, she recorded two albums of rebetiko classics.
She was born into large family – and poverty – in 1931 in a neighbourhood of Piraeus. Music was her way out. She made her first record in 1952 and recorded steadily after that, performing until the year 2000. She worked alongside Giorgos Zambetas for a decade and she collaborated with dozens of others including, late in her career, the singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki on the rebetiko classic To Minore Tis Avgis. She died at age 80 in 2011.
For You to Know is an early rebetiko recording that showcases her warm, rich voice.
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