Grigoris Bithikotsis

Grigoris Bithikotsis passed away

Grigoris Bithikotsis was a great popular singer, with personality, prestige and multi-faceted talent, while he performed non-stop for the last 55 years, thus becoming an inseparable part of the Greek music culture.

Bithikotsis breathed his last at Igia Hospital, where had been receiving treatment since January.

According to doctors treating him, the 83-year-old folk bard had septicaemia and suffered multiple organ failure.

The great performer was loved by all Greeks and his voice was associated with significant moments in contemporary Greek music history. One of these moments was the uprising of the students of Athens against the Greek Junta.

Grigoris Bithikotsis prevailed as the top popular artist in the Greek music scene for twenty years (1950-1970), both as a composer, as well as a singer. His first collaboration with Mikis Theodorakis for the work "Epitaphios" revolutionized Greek music and established him as one of the greatest figures of his era, while it opened the way to some of the most popular music halls in Athens.

In 2002, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Kostis Stefanopoulos, awarded him the Phoenix Golden Cross for his overall contribution to Greek culture. In March of the same year, the Greek Ministry of Culture awarded him an honourary plaque, while it also organized a concert dedicated to him, during which many musicians and singers performed his songs.

Listen to Grigoris Bithikotsis songs: Listen to "Frangosyriani" Listen to "Milise mou"