Paschalis

Artist: Paschalis

LP: Ta Opaiotepa Tpaioyaia Moy

Song: "The May Girl (Venus)"

[ listen ]

When my radio alarm clock came on this morning, I heard a report on NPR news stating that European officials had approved the latest round of rescue money for Greece's troubled economy. Reporter Jim Zarroli whined that the $170 billion bailout was just "one more step in Europe's long crawl back from the edge of financial oblivion." I sat straight up in bed and screamed to myself "No!" As everyone knows, Greek men are really sexy. (Paschalis, who resembles Austin Pendleton's Dr. Larrabee from WHAT'S UP DOC?, notwithstanding.) Look at this guy! And what about this one? Don't forget this one! Would you like these men to be flung over the edge into financial oblivion? I sure wouldn't. So today's post is dedicated to European leaders as a way of saying thank you for lending the Greeks a hand. Here's hoping everything turns out all right in the end—just like it did in WHAT'S UP, DOC? You can listen to the NPR report for yourself here, and go here to see another sexy Greek guy.

Trio Hellenique

Artist: Trio Hellenique

LP: 7" single

Song: "Ni Nanai"

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This chirpy Greek trio relocated to Paris in 1960, then settled in The Netherlands in the mid-1960s. Their "Ni Nanai" single was a #17 hit on the Dutch charts back in 1965. I don't know about you, but "Ni Nanai" is giving me a pretty strong craving for some of this. You can read more about Trio Hellenique here.

Gus Vali and His Casbah Ensemble

Artist: Gus Vali and His Casbah Ensemble

LP: All Points East

Song: "Rampee"

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Song: "Misirlou"

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Gus Vali is of Greek heritage, but his terrific 1960 "All Points East" LP whisks listeners away on a musical safari that stops in several exciting locales in the mysteriously exotic near Orient—like Turkey! Track notes for "Rampee" (w/ vocals by Manny Ayvas) and Vali's ponderous interpretation of "Misirlou" are included below, along with LP liner notes by Val Arms in which he calls Gus "fresh." You can find more info on Gus Vali along with a list of his other records on the Hipwax website here.

 

Giannis Parios

Artist: Giannis Parios

LP: Erhonte Stigmes

Song: "Pote Den Se Xehno"

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Don't know about the rest of you, but I'm feeling exceedingly independent today. Giannis Parios (also "Yiannis Parios") is a Greek singer born in March of 1946, which you can confirm on Wikipedia here. You can also visit Parios' website here... I just hope you're able to make more sense of it than I could—it's all Greek to me!

The Mario Panas Sound

Artist: The Mario Panas Sound

LP: Bouzouki Dancing
Song: "Die Bouzouki Klang Durch Die Sommernacht"
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While visiting my friend Alex in Portland last weekend, we also painted Everyday Music red and I bought this beautiful and unusual bouzouki-themed LP while we were waiting for the paint to dry. To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure what a bouzouki was until I looked it up on the internet and discovered it's one of these. After some more research, I found out that Mario Panas was one of the writers of his daughter Vicky's Eurovision Contest-winning hit, "Apres Toi," which represented Luxembourg in 1971. (You can read more about that and see her perform the song here.) Also, I found out that Mario Panas is originally from Greece and is AKA Leo Leandros, and he's A sometimes KA Leandros Papathanasiou. I'd have to agree though that "The Leandros Papathanasiou Sound" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

[ Mario Panas, Leo Leandros, etc. ]

Melina Mercouri

Artist: Melina Mercouri

LP: L'œillet Rouge

Song: "L'Orgue De Barbarie"
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Song: "Maxaipi Maypomaniko"
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Here's another album I picked up in the little town of Snohomish two weekends ago. The photo on the back of the LP looks like it could be a publicity still from a 1964 Merlina Mercouri horror film:

Mercouri was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her role in one of my favorite films of the 1960s, "Never On Sunday," directed by her husband, Jules Dassin. Most of the songs on this LP are in French, but the last track sounds like Greek to me. I've included that one here, along with one of the nice French songs. You can read about Melina Mercouri's life and career [here] and [here] and see a complete list of her films [here]. Mercouri's first film, Michael Cacoyannis' "Stella," is available on DVD and lots of fun to watch. The "L'œillet Rouge" LP folds out to reveal lyrics to all the songs and two nice pictures of Melina Mercouri recording in the studio.