Who was Eftihia Papagiannopoulou?
Eftihia Papagiannopoulou (1893–1972) was one of the most important female figures in the Greek music scene.
She wrote lyrics for hundreds of laika and rebetika songs, many of which remain popular today and are still performed in tavernas, concerts, and festivals all over Greece.
She was born in Aydin, near Smyrna (modern-day Izmir) in Asia Minor, and fled to Greece after the destruction of Smyrna in 1922. Arriving in Athens with her two daughters, she would eventually become a beloved, though often underrecognized, figure in Greek music history.
