Marinella

She was born Kyriaki Papadopoulou (Κυριακή Παπαδοπούλου), in the city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece. Her parents were Greek refugees from Constantinople. She is the fourth and last child of a large family, which despite its poverty, was rich in love and in artistic vein. The whole family gathered around the turntable and sang, while her father tried to teach children the steps of the waltz and the tango. From the age of four years singing on the radio broadcast in "Pediki Ora (Children's Hour)" and later did ads for shops such as "Melka" in Thessaloniki, earning her first pocket money. She participated in many performances of children's theatre.[2]

At age 15, she gave up her budding career to finish school, but by seventeen, her passion for the theatre is stirring and she joins the artistic group of Mary Laurent, a "mpoulouki" (so called then the singer troupes that traveled Greece end-to-end for performances) and plays small roles. One day, the lead singer fell sick and sought Marinella as a replacement, who was willing to take the singer's place. At that moment, the Greek music world found one of its best representatives. Marinella became the lead singer of the troupe. She later joined the Military Theatre because the remuneration was better. At the same time she started her career as a singer at the "Panorama" centre of Thessaloniki, where Tolis Harmas coined the name "Marinella" for her, inspired by his song.[3]

She released her first song in 1957, "Nitsa, Elenitsa (Little Helen)". Her early career was marked by her collaboration with singer Stelios Kazantzidis. Together they managed to become the greatest duet of Greece, unsurpassed even today. Starting at the night club "Luxembourg" in Thessaloniki where they enjoyed great success, they later moved to Athens, the capital, where they became widely known. They sang the songs of Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hadjidakis, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Giorgos Mitsakis, Giorgos Zambetas, Apostolos Kaldaras, Theodoros Derveniotis, Stavros Xarchakos, Christos Leontis, whom are considered the best composers of the era.

Marinella married Stelios Kazantzidis on 7 May 1964 and they toured together in Germany and the United States. They divorced in September 1966. Marinella then began a solo career and eventually in 1974 married singer Tolis Voskopoulos. This second marriage also ended in divorce in 1981.

In October 1970, Marinella participated in the V Festival Internacional da Cançao Popular – Parte Internacion (FIC) in Rio de Janeiro, representing Greece with the song "Kyra Giorgena (Wife of George)", finishing 4th among 38 countries. On October 24, 1970, the Billboard wrote "Marinella from Greece, knows audiences in Athens clubs, carries enchantment in her songs and the warmth of the sun in her voice" (by Henry Johnston).[4]

Marinella was the first Greek singer to participate in the International MIDEM Festival of 1973 in Cannes with and three new songs composed by Stavros Xarchakos[5] and in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1974, placing eleventh with the song "Krasi, Thalassa Kai T' Agori Mou (Wine, sea and my boyfriend)". Greek rock band Nostradamos had won the first Eurovision participation contest ran by the state broadcaster ERT to represent Greece at Eurovision.[6] However, due to a scandal, the band was not allowed to compete at Eurovision, and Marinella was sent instead.[6]

She also performed in several Greek musicals, both as singer and actress. Her popularity rose in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, with a string of successful albums and live shows. She developed a new standard for shows in the Greek night clubs, introducing costumes, dancing, and special lighting effects.

On 27 April 1998, Marinella performed in the Athens Concert Hall, performing her older hits to great acclaim.[7] Her concert at the small Olympic Stadium of Athens on 1 October 1999 was a great success with more than 25,000 people.[8]

In November 2002, she collaborated with George Dalaras. They performed concerts in Athens and Thessaloniki as well as abroad.[9] The tour was titled "Mazi (Together)" and the released live album from these performances reached platinum status in 2003.

On 10 April 2003, The New York Times critic wrote about Marinella, "Her voice was earthy and strong, and she had the presence of an actress as she danced a few teasing steps or brought dignity to longing" (by Jon Pareles).[10]

In March 2004, she released a brand new album with new songs by Nikos Antypas and Lina Nikolakopoulou, entitled "Ammos Itane (It was sand)". In the same year, on 19 August, she performed at the closing ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics, along with Dimitra Galani, Haris Alexiou, Yiannis Parios and George Dalaras. In December 2005, she released a new album titled "Tipota Den Ginete Tihea (Nothing is random)", composed by Giorgos Theofanous. The album reached gold status and includes duets with famous Greek singers, such as Antonis Remos and Glykeria. In 2006, two new compilations of Marinella were officially released, the first titled "Sti Skini (On stage)" and containing older live recordings and the second one titled "Ta Logia Ine Peritta – 50 Chronia Tragoudi (Words are pointless – 50 Years of song)", which is a complete eight CDs boxset with Marinella's greatest hits from the beginning of her career until her collaboration with Kostas Hatzis at "Recital". She returned to nightlife, by performing live with Antonis Remos at the Athens Arena in 2006–07 and 2007–08, with Giannis Parios at the Diogenis Studio in the winter season 2008–09, and with Natassa Theodoridou at the Votanikos in 2011–12, in Athens.

Even though Marinella is often considered a singer of folk songs, her range is quite broad and has included a variety of musical styles including traditional, laika, pop, blues, and jazz. Marinella is characterised as "The Great Lady of Song" in Greece, where she is regarded with great respect. She rarely makes public appearances, and her concerts are few and far between.

• ΙΙΙ F.I.C. Festival Internacional Da Canção 1968 Rio
• 2004 – Athens 2004 Olympic Games

The following table is a record of all instances of Marinella in films of Greek cinema, from the 1960 by 1966 with Stelios Kazantzidis and from 1967 by 1970 itself.[11]

• Video of Marinella singing the song "Kyra Giorgena" at the TV show "Nana Mouskouri with the Athenians" on BBC, in 1971 on YouTube
• Video clip of the song "Krasi, thalassa ke t' agori mu" (Eurovision '74) 1974 on YouTube
• Video clip of the song "Na pezi to tranzistor" (Αlbum "I Marinella tou simera") 1978 on YouTube
• Video clip of the song "Vasanismeni Kyriaki" (Αlbum "Gia proti fora") 1997 on YouTube
• Marinella singing the song "Asteri sto parathyro (Star in the window)" (Film "Gymni sto dromo") in 1969 on YouTube

• Marinella – Fan Club in Pathfinder
• ΜΑΡΙΝΕΛΛΑ – Διαδικτυακό Αφιέρωμα