10 Greek covers of Italian songs

It’s been 40 years since my home-country Greece became the 10th member state of the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor to the European Union (EU). The EEC was created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957; the six founding member-states were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The first enlargement was in 1973, with the accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom (which sadly left the EU on 31 January 2020). Greece joined on 1 January 1981, followed by Spain and Portugal five years later. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Hellenic entry into the European family, I curated a playlist, which includes not only Greek covers of Italian songs, but also the Italian originals.

This playlist is by no means exhaustive; instead, it reflects my personal taste in music.

Σταθερό (Impagliatori D’Aquile)

Eleonora Zouganeli is one of my favourite Greek singers. A few weeks ago, she released a new song, ‘Σταθερό’, which is actually a cover of an older Italian song released in the 1990s. ‘Impagliatori D’Aquile’ was originally recorded by the iconic Italian singer Mina and featured in her album ‘Canarino Mannaro’.

Τα Λέμε (Bastardo)

This is not the first time that Eleonora covers an Italian song. A few years ago, she covered Anna Tatangelo’s hit song ‘Bastardo’.

Φεύγω Για Μένα Μια Φορά (Lasciala Andare)

Before that, Eleonora had also covered Irene Grandi’s ‘Lasciala Andare’, which featured in the album ‘Indelebile’. ‘Φεύγω Για Μένα Μια Φορά’ featured in Eleonora’s debut album ‘Έλα’.

Φίλα Με Ακόμα (Baciami Ancora)

‘Φίλα Με Ακόμα’ is a duet performed by two male Greek singers, Panos Mouzourakis and Maraveyas. The Italian original, ‘Baciami Ancora’, is performed by Jovanotti.

Σε Θέλω Εδώ (Vivo Per Lei)

‘Σε Θέλω Εδώ’ is another duet, performed by Dimitra Galani and Giorgos Karadimos. ‘Vivo Per Lei’, is also a duet, originally performed by Andrea Bocelli and Giorgia. It has also been covered in other languages, performed by Bocelli and other female singers (Marta Sánchez in Spanish, Hélène Ségara in French, Judy Weiss in German and Sandy in Portuguese).

Πάει Πάει (Non E L’Amore Que Va Via)

With a career spanning 5 decades, Dimitra Galani is another one of my favourite Greek singers. In 2007, she released the album ‘Ντάμα Κούπα’, which features quite a few covers. Amongst those, there’s ‘Πάει Πάει’, a cover of an Italian song by Vinicio Capossela.

Δυο ‘Αγγελοι Στη Γη (Un Angelo Disteso Al Sole)

Maria Elena Kyriakou is a Greek-Cypriot singer, best known for representing Greece in Eurovision in 2015. She rose to fame after winning the first season of The Voice of Greece in 2014. ‘Δυο ‘Αγγελοι Στη Γη’, released that year, is a cover of an Eros Ramazzotti song, from his 2013 album ‘Noi Due’.

Γι’Αυτό Χειροκροτήστε Την (Bisogna Saper Perdere)

‘Γι’Αυτό Χειροκροτήστε Την’ is one of the first songs by Kostas Martakis, from his debut album ‘Ανατροπή’. It is a cover of a much older Italian song, originally performed by Lucio Dalla.

Το Νου Σου Κύριε Οδηγέ (La Solitudine)

Back in the early 1990s, Thanos Kalliris had quite a few hit songs, including this one, a cover of Laura Pausini’s ‘La Solitudine’. The latter was included in the Italian singer’s self-titled debut album. Originally performed in Italian, she later covered it in English and Spanish, whereas other singers covered in several other languages.

Εγώ Για Σένα (Ancora Vivo)

Last week, I curated a playlist which included not only Greek covers of French songs, but also the French originals. Rallia Christidou featured twice in that playlist. Today, however, she only features once. Long before she covered French songs, she had covered Adriano Celentano’s ‘Ancora Vivo’. ‘Εγώ Για Σένα’ was in fact her first hit, and features in her debut album ‘Με το βλέμμα της καρδιάς’.

Further listening

I hope you have enjoyed these Greek covers of Italian songs.

If you’d like to listen to Greek covers of French songs, check out my previous post.

If you’d like to listen to more Greek songs, then follow me on a musical journey to Greece or on a musical journey to the Greek islands.

Or, simply follow me on a musical journey around Europe.

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)