Αλέκα Κανελλίδου

Aleka Kanellidou is a Greek singer whose voice is considered the most enchanting among all jazz voices in Greece during the 70s and 80s. The voice of Aleka Kanellidou is unforgettably husky, very expressive, and so wonderfully warm.

Aleka Kanellidou was born on January 29, 1945, in Plaka, Athens, in a family of musicians. Her father, Yannis Kanellidis, was a violinist. From childhood, she was fascinated by jazz (G. Gershwin, C. Porter), and by the age of 17, while still in school, Aleka began singing. Her first record, released in 1964 (when she was 19), featured two songs by Yannis Spartakos, a family friend and jazz enthusiast.

In 1974, Aleka Kanellidou participated in the annual Thessaloniki Song Festival. There, she became so nervous that she stopped and restarted her song "Άσε με να φύγω" ("Let Me Go"). She won the "Best Performance" award, which made her famous in Greece. Kanellidou performed both foreign and Greek songs by renowned composers, such as Yannis Spanos, Yorgos Katsaros, Mimis Plessas, Yorgos Hatzinasios, Marios Tokas, Lavrentis Maheritsas, and the world-famous Vangelis.

Generally, there is very little information about her in the internet — Aleka has always kept a low profile, staying far from the press. People began talking about her when her husband, Michalis Yannousakis, was murdered in a nightclub. It is also said that in 2012, Aleka Kanellidou became a grandmother and was overjoyed.





Text author: Marina Boronina. Use permitted only with a link to this page or the author.