- Loukas Daralas
Loukas Daralas ( _el. Λουκάς Νταράλας) (1927-1977) was born in
Athens and is perhaps best known as the father of contemporary singerGeorge Dalaras (note the difference in spelling).He was a performer of
Rebetiko music inGreece during the 1950s and early 1960s and is famous for the song "To Vouno" ("The Mountain"), a well-known rembetiko song. He released the album "Enas Rembetis".According to the surviving relatives of famous rembetissa
Marika Ninou , in an interview completed by Panos Geramanis on radio in late 2004, Marika Ninou was in fact the one who discovered, hence the first who recorded to Vouno, which in turn was one of the last songs recorded by Ninou, prior to her untimely death. The Keti Grei version was issued a short while later and became widely popular amongst the masses.Loukas Daralas' recordings were few. There are only two official releases on the now defunct Sonora label. The first being Enas Rembetis, which included his own rendition of To Vouno. The LP was a compilation of his own works, and in turn 11 other pieces. A follow up LP was released a year later in 1975. However it did not manage to reach the success of the first LP.
Both LPs are now available on the Polygram label on one CD. The rarity of the vinyl releases has resulted in vinyl copies of the two LPs being widely sought after.
Unfortunately, little is known about Loukas Daralas. He was born in Athens in 1927 and died in 1977. In an interview
George Dalaras once described his father as a free man who travelled a lot and seldom spent time at home.[http://www.mfa.gr/english/greece/today/culture/music/composers.html "Great Artists of Greek Music"] "Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Greece"]
References
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