Kostas Roukounas (1903–1984) began singing in tavernas in the mid-1920s and moved to Athens around 1927 or 1928. There, composer and record company executive Panagiotis Tountas (Παναγιώτης Τούντας) discovered him and brought him in to record. He sang traditional, folk, and popular songs, but here we have a classic rebetiko recording called Marika the Hashish Smoker.
Marika frequented Hash dens (tekes = τεκέδες), smoked “the black” (το μαύρο – slang for hashish), and often stayed out very late dancing with swaggering street toughs (manges = μάγκες). The singer bemoans her wild lifestyle and at the end of the song, confesses his undying love for her. To close things out, an unidentified voice shouts “Bravo, Roukounas!”
One meta reference in the song is a line about dancing the “bohori” – a reference to the popular 1928 Marika Papagika (Μαρίκα Παπαγκίκα) folk song “To Bohori” (Το Μποχώρι).
Greek and English subtitles available (CC).
Recorded in Athens, Greece in 1934.
Originally released as Parlophon B.21765.
Reissued as Decca 31062.
Credits:
Kostas Roukounas (Κώστας Ρούκουνας) – vocals, guitar
Spyros Peristeris (Σπύρος Περιστέρης) – orchestra conductor
Unknown artist – guitar
Vangelis Papazoglou (Βαγγέλης Παπάζογλου) – Songwriter
Sources:
https://rebetiko.sealabs.net/?song=2206
https://rebetiko.sealabs.net/?performer=6800
https://phonobase.org/en/fiche/13709
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