ATHENS – Popular singer Mary Linda died on Wednesday morning at the age of 91 at at the Athens Nursing Home.
Mary Linda spent the final years of her life at the Athens Nursing Home, where she had chosen to reside on 31 October 2018 of her own accord, having formed a personal view of the standard of care and security the institution provides to its residents.
The Nursing Home announced the sad news, stating that “she passed away calmly and peacefully, with her beloved daughter Evangelia by her side, as well as the entire administration and staff of the Athens Nursing Home, who cared for her deeply”.
Mary Linda was born Maria Dimitrakopoulou (or Dimitropoulou) on 9 November 1935 in Pyrgos, in the region of Ilia, into a large and impoverished family. She later grew up in the Kolonos district of Athens. Displaying remarkable talent from an early age, she took her first steps in singing and dancing by appearing in Orestis Laskos’s Talents programme before performing in the variety shows and cabarets of the era.
MARY LINDA (ARCHIVE PHOTO) (THOMAS DASKALAKIS / EUROKINISSI)
A defining moment in both her career and personal life came with her meeting the celebrated bouzouki virtuoso and composer of countless hits, Manolis Chiotis. The couple married in 1959 and remained together for around a decade.
Together, Mary Linda and Manolis Chiotis formed one of the most successful and popular duos in the history of Greek music, introducing a more cosmopolitan and modern style to laïko (popular folk) music. They also appeared in dozens of iconic films during the golden age of Greek cinema. In 1961, she won First Prize at the Thessaloniki Song Festival with the song “Apagogi”.
Thanks to her collaboration with Chiotis, Mary Linda became the definitive interpreter of songs such as Perasmenes mou Agapes, Den thelo pia na xanarthis, Iliovasilemata and others. These recordings have remained classics of Greek discography and continue to resonate with successive generations of listeners.
MARY LINDA (ARCHIVE PHOTO) (KOSTAS KATOMERIS / EUROKINISSI)
In 1964, during a tour of the United States with Chiotis, she performed at the White House in honour of US President Lyndon Johnson. Among the couple’s admirers were legendary actor Anthony Perkins and the world-renowned soprano Maria Callas.
Mary Linda continued to perform with great success in music venues and concerts in Greece and abroad for many decades. She also made a significant contribution through her interpretations of works by other major Greek composers, including Mikis Theodorakis’s Archipelago and songs by Manos Hadjidakis, further cementing her place among the most important voices of Greek music.
