Apostolos Nikolaidis: Biography Part 2

Through his engagements and performances in Greece in the 1960s, Apostolos had come in contact and worked with many of the great composers of rebetika music such as Markos Vamvakaris, Vasilis Tsitsanis, Giorgos Lafkas and Giannis Papaioannou. These composers had risen to fame in the 40s and early 50s but had become sorely neglected and even prosecuted in the much-changed musical landscape of the 1960s. It was from them that Apostolos learned the authentic, traditional rebetika songs, songs borne of poverty, strife and suffering by the refugees of Asia Minor in large Greek urban centers in the 1920s. Apostolos' idea was to record an album full of these classic, traditional rebetika songs with their original lyrics as intended by their authors. Some of these songs had never been recorded with their original lyrics and all were outlawed in Greece when a military coup took control of the government in 1967.

With NINA Records on board as record label and distributor of the project, the songs were chosen, the musicians were assembled, the arrangements were made ... and Apostolos sang lead and backing vocals in a tiny New York studio in the winter of 1972.

The result, 1973's "Otan Kapnizi O Loulas," was a remarkable musical accomplishment that generated sales of unprecedented proportions and made Apostolos famous all over the world. The album became a worldwide best-seller as Greek music lovers everywhere lined up in stores as far away as Japan to purchase the album. Many bought 20 and 30 copies each to send to relatives to Greece as gifts. The album was essentially illegal in Greece in the first few years of its release, and many an 8-track copy of "Otan Kapnizi O Loulas" was confiscated by authorities from taxi drivers' car radios in Athens during 1973 and 1974.

Virtually all the songs on the album were hits and have since become classics: the title track, "Otan kapnizi o loulas," "Magas vgike gia sergiani," "Otan simvi sta perix," "Mes tis polis to hamam," "Ti zoula mou anakalipsan," "Vadizo ke paramilo."

Through the release of "Otan Kapnizi O Loulas," Apostolos proved there was still a big demand for this kind of music, the traditional rebetika. It was a demand that in a way never went away. Furthermore, because of his unique and unparalelled vocal delivery, the songs captured the public's imagination like no recorded music before it did. Apostolos touched a nerve and at the same time introduced this important part of Greek musical history to an all-new generation of listeners.

Apostolos Nikolaidis was the first artist to record and release these songs at a time when no one else would touch them. He was the first to pay tribute to these unsung heros, the great composers of Greek rebetika music. And — in what is perhaps one of most understated realities in the history of recorded Greek music — he opened up the doors for many other contemporary Greek singers and groups to begin recording these types of songs and to begin performing them as an established part of their musical repertoire.

Today, "Otan Kapnizi O Loulas" is considered a classic Greek music album and has sold over three million copies worldwide — not counting the tens of thousands of bootleg copies that have been produced and sold since the album was released.

Following the smash success of "Otan Kapnizi O Loulas," Apostolos became much in demand. He toured the U.S. and Canada and gave sold-out performances in major cities like Montreal, Toronto, New York, Chicago and Houston to fans who were clamoring to hear live versions of the songs he made so popular.

He followed up "Otan Kapnizi O Loulas" with another classic album of rebetika songs, "O Arhagelos," which was recorded in Houston in 1975 and was accompanied on bouzouki by Christos Psarros. "O Arhagelos" was the beginning of a long-standing musical partnership between the two. Apostolos' classic interpretations of songs like "O arhagelos," "Kato sta lemonadika" and "San pethano sto karavi" became instantly popular and drew legions of fans in nightclubs in New York and across the country.

Fresh from winning a gold record for "Otan Kapnizi O Loulas" in June 1976, Apostolos released "Ithela Namouna Passas" on his own record label, Marilou Records. This innovative album, a collection of 12 tsiftetelia songs, once again introduced a forgotten kind of Greek music to a wider audience. Some of the most well-known songs on the record included "Ithela na mouna pasas," "Giala giala s' agapo" and "Palamakia palamakia."

Another record of traditional rebetika songs, "Ston Adi Antamosane" (also on the NINA label) followed in 1977. It featured outstanding performances of more classic songs such as "Gia prosexe me vlamissa ," "Sti filaki " and "To 13 to keli." By that time, Apostolos was the most popular singer in Greek communities around the world. He was particularly popular in New York, where he became a staple of Astoria's Greek-American entertainment community.