Sotiria Bellou

Sotiria Bellou was one of the most influential singers of rembetika tragoudi, a style of song known as "Greek blues." "Discovered" by late Greek composer Vassilis Tsitsánis in 1945, Bellou continued to sing professionally for nearly five decades. Supporting herself during rembetika's popularity lull of the 1950s by selling cassettes on the street, she regained her former status during the rembetika revival that extended from the mid-'60s until the early '80s. A native of Drosia (now Haila), a small village near Halkida, Bellou sang as a child in a church choir led by her grand...