(b Halia [now Drosia], Halkida, 1921; d Athens, 1997). Greek rebetika musician. One of the best known performers of rebetika songs, she was famous for her deep, earthy voice. At the age of 19, after a disastrous marriage, she fled to Athens where she became involved with the left-wing opposition to the German occupation. She also began singing and playing the guitar and was discovered by the well-known rebetika composer Vassilis Tsitsanis. He wrote two songs, Otan pineio sti taverna (‘When you drink in the tavern’) and To paidi pou eixes filo (‘The boy who was your friend’), which established her reputation.
From 1948 to 1956 she was at the height of her fame. An unusually free spirit and openly lesbian, Bellou was the first woman to perform at the legendary rebetika club Jimmy the Fat’s. As the rebetika lost their popularity she was abandoned by the record companies and survived by selling cigarettes in taverns. In 1966 she began a new recording career, collaborating with well-known Greek composers such as Dionysis Savvopoulos and making some of her best recordings for Lyra records. Bellou performed regularly with Vassilis Tsitsanis in her later years at the Harama Club. Among her best known songs are Yramma tha steilo sto theo (‘I’ll send a letter to God’), Apopse kaneis bam (‘Tonight you’re dynamite’) and San pethano sto karavi (‘If I die on the boat’).
For bibliography see Rebetika.
GAIL HOLST-WARHAFT