John the Murderer (Fleury Dandonaki, 1980)

Fleury Dandonaki

leury Dandonaki was Manos Hadjidakis' favorite singer. She was born in Crete in 1937. She studied philosophy and theater at the University of South Carolina in the late '50s. In New York she made her first steps on the stage of Broadway and critics recognized something different in her wonderful voice, full of sensitivity, and in her large expressive eyes. The «New York Times» declared her talent equal to that of Liza Minnelli's.

In 1970 she meets in New York Manos Hadjidakis as she replaces an actress of the Broadway show "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris". Manos is astonished by her performance. Fleury becomes his favourite singer and during the '70s they work together in many successful theatre and music projects. In 1980, it was at the insistence of Manos Hadjidakis, who was back then director of ERA's Programme C (radio broadcast) that the recording below took place.

Fleury Dandonaki died on July 18,1998 at the age of 60, after a long struggle with cancer and rests in peace next to her long time friend Manos Hadjidakis in a semetery in Athens.

The song was first released by Columbia in 1976. The name of the album is "Immortality". Music by Manos Hadjidakis and poetry by Nikos Gatsos. It is a masterpiece.

John the murderer [Ο Γιάννης ο Φονιάς]

music: Manos Hadjidakis

lyrics: Nikos Gatsos

vocals: Fleury Dandonaki

John the murderer

-son of a woman from Patras

and of a man from Messolonghi-

last Sunday

right after the prison

passed by our house

We treated him desert

we treated him mint

but the murder

we didn't mention (x2)

Only Phrosi

-shedding sea coloured tears

of her large eyes-

kissed silently

his precious hands

and went out of the hall

No one made it

to bear her pain

and no one from the family

found a word to say

And John the murderer

at the corner of the street

with the longing's thorn
remembered again

moons so distant

and the dream that was gone.

The Price of Love (Dimitra Galani, 1983)

scene from the movie "The price of love", 1983

oday we host the soundtrack of a 1983 movie (by Tonia Marketaki) which was based on a 1912 book (by Konstantinos Theotokis) which was based on an imaginary love story in Corfu of 1900.

Dimitra Galani is singing this simple yet stongly emotional song, explaining how priceless love is. There is barely anything else to say, besides the truth that just a guitar can sometimes bring up to the surface the colours a whole band couldn't.

The Price of Love

music: Eleni Karaindrou

lyrics: Tonia Marketaki

with the voice of Dimitra Galani

There is no price for love
and neither for life there is

Who is selling it? Who is buying it?
Who is taking it to auction?

There is no price for love
and neither for life there is

Whoever loves can give it

with just a glance, a kiss

If you have a little love, give me

to sweeten my life
There is no price for love
there is no price for pride.

That day won't be late (Manos Loizos, 1980)

Manos Loizos

riginaly from Cyprus, born in 1937 Alexandria, Egypt, lived in Greece and died young in Moscow in 1982, Manos Loizos was a diamond of Greek music [see also previous post for another of his songs]. His songs are simple and beautiful. His political action (with the Greek Communist Party) especially the 7 years of dictatorship (1967-73) put him to a lot of trouble but he always remained a low profile musician and people loved his songs. There is a presence of elegance along with simplicity at all his works and this make them seem easy listening. However, there is a fight of a whole generation engrained in them. With a strong political view as well as with emotions. In the next one? Hope.

That day won't be late

lyrics: Fontas Ladis

music: Manos Loizos

vocals: Manos Loizos & Dimitra Galani

That day won't be late

when I'll see you again in front of me.

The sunlight will be broken

and you will be running towards me.

Your forehead will be spreading

golden rain in the sky

and your nice face

will be paler than the moon.

And when our heatrs will become one

everything will be shinning differently

and the whole old world

will be vanished in our shades.

That day won't be late,

my hunted bird,

the West once took you away,

the East is bringing you back.

The Right for Love (Dimitra Galani & Alkistis Protopsalti, 1988)

Alkistis Protopsalti

imitra Galani's first compositions were songs that the Egypt-born Greek Alkistis Protopsalti sang in 1988 at the album "Dikeoma" (= the Right). They are both still active releasing new records every little while, though to my perception their worth-to-mention works stopped around 10 to 15 years ago. Since that time they have either been repeating themselves or just fail to be more "trendy"- although they try a lot.

So we are going back to 1988 to listen to the song the album was named out of. This is a live performance much much later (hard to say when). The translated lyrics of this love song are given below and they are based on the ones found at stixoi.info -with minor changes.

The Right

music: Dimitra Galani

lyrics: Lina Nikolakopoulou

vocals: Alkistis Protopsalti

And the right
to love you I no more have
the basis of my loneliness

will be this

To caress you once
it's not enough nor it concerns me
we both wanted sometime
But now
I just want you for myself

And the right to love you I no more have

And the right
to hold me you no more have

to take me
to the middle ages of your logic

To caress you once
it's not enough nor it concerns me
we both wanted sometime
But now
I just want you for myself

And the right to love you I no more have