With a singing career that began in the late 1940's,
Anna Chrysafi was a true veteran of the palko. Born in Athens (1922?)
to Asia Minor refugee parents, with several musicians in her family, Anna
started her working life as a seamstress. Her first appearances as a singer
were in 1949 at the Athenian kosmiki taverna 'Rosiniol', and her
first recordings were made with Yorgos Mitsakis. Their collaboration continued
for some seven years.
She worked with all of the greatest names in rebetiko history - Yiannis Papaioannou, Vasilis Tsitsanis, Sotiria Bellou, Markos Vamvakaris, Takis Binis and many others. Thanks to the revival of interest in the rebetiko and post-war laiko songs that began to gather force in the 1970's and shows no sign of abating, Anna Chrysafi continued to be an active presence on the Greek popular music scene and was beloved by new audiences. Anna passed away 2 September 2013. There are many fine video clips on Youtube featuring Anna in films and other performance contexts.