Alkistis Protopsalti (Άλκηστις Πρωτοψάλτη)

Alkistis Protopsalti (Άλκηστις Πρωτοψάλτη) is another one of those stars, like Galani from yesterday, who excelled in many different genres of music. She is today's subject.

Alkistis Protopsalti was born Alkistis Sevasti Attiquzel (Άλκηστις Σεβαστή Αττικιουζέλ) in 1954, in Alexandria, Egypt, to parents of Greek descent. When Alkistis was 6, the family had to move to the "refugee" suburbs of Athens, Greece, because of the volatile political situation in Egypt. They originally stayed at Emittos (Υμηττός), then at Kallithea (Καλλιθέα) and finally at New Smyrna (Νέα Σμύρνη). This uprooting left the family feeling disoriented, a emotion that was greatly augmented for young Alkistis when, at 11, her father died. As she mentions in an interview, this was the time that she started singing, as a means of expresssing her deepest feelings and chasing away her pain.

Her first job was as a tour guide. She would take tourists on visits to the archaeological sites of Greece. On the way back, she would be singing in the bus for the tourists. She would also be involved in sports - and she was good at it. She seemed to be heading for a career in sports, but her friends persuaded her to go audition for singer/songwriter Dimos Moutsis (Δήμος Μούτσης), for a project that he was preparing. She passed the audition.

It was Moutsis who changed her surname to Protopsalti. Their album came out in 1976. From this album, here's Mohammed From Algiers (Ο Μωχάμετ Απ' Τ' Αλγέρι):

Her next project was with composer Elias Andriopoulos (Ηλίας Ανδριόπουλος) and it was based in poetry by Nobel laureate George Seferis (Γιώργος Σεφέρης). One of her songs was Santorini (Σαντορίνη):

In 1981, in her self-titled album, she sang songs by Mikis Theodorakis (Μίκης Θεοδωράκης). Among them, I Open The Door At Night (Την Πόρτα Ανοίγω Το Βράδυ):

In 1982 she appeared in the collaborative project called The Song Has No End (Τέλος Δεν Έχει Το Τραγούδι). This was a project conceived by arranger Tassos Karakatsanis (Τάσος Καρακατσάνης) in which Alkistis, along with Nena Venetsanou (Νένα Βενετσάνου), Yiannis Koutras (Γιάννης Κούτρας) and Dimitris Psarianos (Δημήτρης Ψαριανός) sang a non-stop medley of 35 important older songs. Here's part of the album:

In 1984, she worked with Elias Andriopoulos again, this time putting poetry of another Greek Nobel laureate, Odysseas Elytis (Οδυσσέας Ελύτης) to music. Here's Love (Ο Έρωτας):

Her next collaboration was with composer Yiannis Spanos (Γιάννης Σπανός). The album was called Emergency Exit (Έξοδος Κινδύνου). Here she is, singing the title track. Lyrics are by Lina Nikolakopoulou (Λίνα Νικολακοπούλου).

Lina Nikolakopoulou's main collaborator at the time was composer Stamatis Kraounakis (Σταμάτης Κραουνάκης). In 1985, they invited Alkistis to work with them on the album I Move Around Carrying A Gun (Κυκλοφορώ Και Οπλοφορώ). The album became a huge hit, effectively making superstars of all three of them. Here's the title track:

This album is my favorite one of hers, so don't expect to get away with just one song. Here's my favorite song from the album, Salvation Of The Soul (Η Σωτηρία Της Ψυχής):

Then there was an amusing song called Adonis (Άδωνις):

For those who want to dig deeper, here's the whole album:

In 1988 she released another very successful album, called The Right (Δικαίωμα). It included songs that were composed by fellow singing superstars. Here's a song called Ask Anything Of Me (Ζήτα Μου Ο,τι Θες...), composed by Charis Alexiou (Χάρις Αλεξίου):

From the same album, here's one of her biggest hit songs, the song which we also heard yesterday by its composer, Dimitra Galani (Δήμητρα Γαλάνη). Just in case you've forgotten what it's called, it's Applause (Το Χειροκρότημα):

In 1989 she collaborated with composer Stamatis Spanoudakis (Σταμάτης Σπανουδάκης). Here's Photograph (Φωτογραφία), with lyrics by Yiannis Xanthoulis (Γιάννης Ξανθούλης):

Another very successful collaboration occurred with Goran Bregović (Γκόραν Μπρέγκοβιτς), the Bosnian composer who became famous when he worked with film-maker Emir Kusturica (Εμίρ Κουστουρίτσα). The album, called I Admitted (Παραδέχτηκα), came out in 1991 and the lyrics belonged to Lina Nikolakopoulou. It was yet another smash for Alkistis. The biggest hit from the album was Gas Station (Βενζινάδικο). The music was based on the one Bregović wrote for Kusturica's Time Of The Gypsies, in particular on the tune Kustino Oro.

St. George's Day (Του Άη Γιώργη) was based on the song from the same film called Edelrezi:

If Joy Was A Piece Of Land (Νάταν Η Χαρά Οικόπεδο) was based on the tune Bonino Oro from the same film:

In 1993 she had another big hit working with the songwriting duo of Kraounakis- Nikolakopoulou. The Popular Songs (Τα Λαϊκά) was the album's biggest hit:

The Job (Η Δουλειά) also made waves:

In 1995-96, she sang for the TV show the Third Wreath (Τρίτο Στεφάνι). The title song, written by Kraounakis- Nikolakopoulou, was a big hit:

In 1997, from her album The Waking Volcano (Σαν Ηφαίστειο Που Ξυπνά), (music by Nikos Andypas (Νίκος Αντύπας) and lyrics by Lina Nikolakopoulou), here's Two-Seater (Διθέσιο):

Lava (Λάβα) was yet another hit from this album:

From 2002, here's Pull The Trigger (Τράβα Σκανδάλη):

In 2004 came another excellent song called My Angel (Ο Άγγελος Μου), music by Stephanos Korkolis (Στέφανος Κορκολής) and lyrics by Nikos Moraitis (Νίκος Μωραϊτης):

 Finally, from 2007, here's a cover version of It's A Pity, originally sang by Tanya Stephens. The Greek title is Let's Go To Hawaii (Πάμε Χαβάη). Dedicated to the good friend of this blog, Record Man:

In 2015 Alkisitis was sworn as Deputy Minister In Charge Of Tourism, in the government that was to take Greece to the next elections. The young tour guide had come full circle.