“Without the orchestra, we’ll all say it together… it’s the song that established me, that introduced me to Greece,” he said and sang “Nichta xelogiastra”
Vassilis Karras remembered his humble and poor origin from Kokkinochori of Pangaio, a small village near Podochori, in his last concert in Akontisma, as written by kavalanews.gr.
“Without the orchestra, we will all say it together… it is the song that established me, that introduced me to Greece… from Kokkinohori now… suddenly…”, said the 69-year-old Vassilis Karras with a smile but also with emotion, addressing the world and making a gesture that showed he hadn’t quite forgotten where he started from.
And he sang “Nichta xelogiastra” a song that often makes him emotional in his concerts as he experienced a huge wave of love from the world.
Vassilis Kesoglides was born in Kokkinohori Kavalas on November 12, 1953. He grew up there with his parents and his siblings, Damianos and Anastasia. When he turned 10, his family moved to Thessaloniki. At the age of just 16, in 1969, he made his first musical appearance in a night club, specifically at “Refugee” by Evosmos. In the mornings he worked in a car repair shop.
Within a few years he managed to become well known in the nightlife of Thessaloniki. The first record and the song he gave to Mario In 1979, his recording career began with the Vasipap company, with which he worked steadily for more than 10 years. The first record was a single titled “Shacks and Palaces”. On the second side was the song “You set fire to my pain” originally sung by Mario in 1976. The lyrics and music in both songs are signed by Vassilis Karras-Kesoglides, as Vasipap mentions his name on the label of the first disc .
A year later, in 1980, these two songs, along with many more new ones, were included in Vassilis Karras’ first major album entitled “Unforgettable hours”. Vasipap re-released it in 1995 on CD when the new technology was starting to enter most homes. The 80’s are full of record labels but the “big bang” happens in 1989 with the album “Avtis ti nochta”. The 4th song of the album entitled “Nychta xelogiastra” is the one that finally introduces Vassilis Karras to all of Greece.
At that point his career begins to take off. His voice has already become deeper and with the characteristic hoarseness he is now recognizable by the general public, from the first verse of each song. And while he becomes a “first name” in Athens, his point of reference for the song is always Thessaloniki. His greatest commercial success is considered to be the record “You’ve Made Me a Tramp” (1997) which achieved initial sales of over 180,000 copies.
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
