Kostas Hatzis

Kostas Hatzis (also Chatzis or Khadzis; Greek: Κώστας Χατζής, IPA: [ˈkos̠tas̠ xaˈdz̠is̠]; born 13 August 1936) is a Greco-Romani singer-songwriter. Hatzis was born in the city of Livadeia to a Romani family. Considered a leading composer and a pioneer in the Greek social song, he has popularised the "voice-guitar" style, voicing ballads with social messages. His grandfather was a popular clarinetist and dulcimer player. Hatzis quickly followed in his grandfather's footsteps. When he was sixteen years old, his father took him to play at weddings, christenings and other events where folk music was requested. After a five-year musical tour of the Greek countryside, he moved to Athens in 1957, began recording in 1961, and became popular in the mid-1960s with the Greek New Wave movement in music. Hatzis's talent was discovered by the day's great composers like Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hadjidakis, Mimis Plessas, Stavros Xarchakos, and Yannis Markopoulos, with whom he since has collaborated, performing their songs, incorporating his personal style and particular sensibility to them. At the end of the 1960s, Hatzis toured the United States to perform concerts for expatriate Greeks. His fame as a singer for peace reached the White House when then-US President Jimmy Carter invited him to meet and be congratulated for his peace work. Hatzis has sung about love as well as about social issues in duets with singers like Marinella. Hatzis married a German woman, with whom he has a daughter, Daniella, and a son, Alexandros. Both are also singers.