Rebetika singers Roza Eskenazi, Markos Vamvakaris, Vasilis Tsitsanis, and Sotiria Bellou were some of the most important figures of the genre.
Rebetika, sometimes called the “Greek Blues,” is perhaps the most influential genre of Greek music. While the movement as a whole was significant internationally, there were a few Rebetika singers that defined the iconic genre. Rebetika singers, musicians, and composers Roza Eskenazi, Markos Vamvakaris, Vasilis Tsitsanis, and Sotiria Bellou were some of not just the greatest, but also the most significant figures in the movement.
Rebetika (loosely translated as “Rebel music”) initially spread among the urban lower and working-class populations in the early twentieth century.
While aspects of the genre were found throughout Greece in the period, the roots of the underground music style are from Asia Minor, and the genre was spread to Greece after waves of Greek refugees were forced to flee Turkey in the 1920s.
The genre draws influence from Greek, Turkish, Roma, and Jewish musical conventions, producing an entirely unique sound.