Global & World Music Stars Codexery

Demis Roussos

Egyptian-born Greek singer of Aphrodite's Child and solo fame.

Last updated

His death on 25 January 2015 at age 68 was caused by stomach, pancreatic, and liver cancer.[1]

Making and release

In Greece he joined the band the Idols at age 17, where he met Evángelos Papathanassíou (Vangelis) and Loukas Sideras.[2][3] He later joined the Athens-based band We Five.[2] Following the loss of their belongings in the 1956 Suez Crisis, Roussos's parents relocated the family to Greece.[4][5] The operatic quality of Roussos's voice contributed to Aphrodite's Child gaining international recognition, particularly with their concluding album 666.[6]

In 1973, the single "Forever and Ever" reached number one in multiple nations, and it subsequently achieved the number one position on the UK Singles Chart in 1976.[7][3] Roussos worked with Michel Elefteriades on an oriental fusion endeavor named Demis Roussos & the Oriental Roots Orchestra, which debuted at the Mediterraneo Byblos Festival in 2001.[8]

What the cited sources add

The Guardian obituary notes that Roussos's vocal abilities were recognised early and he became a soloist with the choir of the Greek Orthodox church in Alexandria.[9] The Guardian obituary adds that Roussos's weight reached nearly 150kg by the end of the 1970s.[9] The BBC News article notes that Roussos's fondness for kaftans earned him the nickname "the Kaftan King"[3] The same source notes that Roussos frequently recorded his songs again in French, German, and Spanish, and on one occasion in Japanese.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Demis Roussos" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Πέθανε ο Ντέμης Ρούσσος – Τα μηνύματα του Αλιάγα στο Twitter (Demis Roussos died – The messages of Nikos Aliagas on Twitter", Iefimerida.gr, 26 January 2015; Zikakou, "Famous Greek Singer Demis Roussos Dies at 68", GreekReporter.com, 26 January 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Demis Roussos" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Greek singer Demis Roussos dead at 68", Reuters, 26 January 2015; Laing, "Demis Roussos obituary", The Guardian, 26 January 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. "Greek singer Demis Roussos dies aged 68", BBC News, 26 January 2015. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
  4. Wikipedia, "Demis Roussos" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Walker, Peter, "Demis Roussos, Greek singer of Forever and Ever, dies aged 68", The Guardian', 26 January 2015; Metwaly, Ali, "Egypt-born Greek singer Demis Roussos dies at 68", Al-Ahram, 26 January 2015; "Demis Roussos dies at 68; popular Greek singer had a global following", Los Angeles Times, 28 January 2015; Injy El-Kashef, "Al-Ahram Weekly | Mambo Egyptiano", Weekly.ahram.org.eg, 25 June 2003 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Walker, Peter, "Demis Roussos, Greek singer of Forever and Ever, dies aged 68", The Guardian', 26 January 2015. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  6. Wikipedia, "Demis Roussos" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Laing, "Demis Roussos obituary", The Guardian, 26 January 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Demis Roussos" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Walker, Peter, "Demis Roussos, Greek singer of Forever and Ever, dies aged 68", The Guardian', 26 January 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Demis Roussos" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Michel Elefteriades", LinerNotes.com, 2015; "Un habitué du Liban", L'Orient-Le Jour, 27 January 2015; Rakha, "Michel Elefteriades: My favourite emperor", Al-Ahram Weekly, 2007; "Michel Elefterriades", CokeStudioMe.com, 2015; "Demis Roussos & The Oriental Roots Orchestra – The Beast", Peoples.ru, 2015; "Demis Roussos, enfant d'Aphrodite devenu star planétaire, est mort", An-Nahar; "Byblos Liban Ville Site Archéologie, Phénicie, Histoire Moyen Orient, Festival BYBLOS Jbeil Lebanon, Culture Tourisme Culturel, Hotel Charme", libanvision.com; en.wikipedia.org
  9. Dave Laing, "Demis Roussos obituary", The Guardian, 26 January 2015. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Demis Roussos (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In which place was Demis Roussos born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Alexandria, Egypt.

From the source: “Roussos was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, in a Greek family.”

2. In what year did Demis Roussos die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 2015.

From the source: “Roussos died in the morning of 25 January 2015 at age 68 from stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, and liver cancer while hospitalised at Ygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece.”

3. In what year was Demis Roussos born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1946.

From the source: “Artemios "Demis" Ventouris-Roussos ( ; , ; 15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015) was an Egyptian-born Greek musician.”

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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