Vassilis Tsitsanis (Greek: Βασίλης Τσιτσάνης 18 January 1915 – 18 January 1984) was a Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern Rebetiko and Laiko music. Tsitsanis wrote more than 500 songs and is still remembered as an extraordinary composer and bouzouki player. 　　Tsitsanis was born in Trikala. From a young age, Tsitsanis was interested in music and learnt to play the violin, mandola and the mandolin which were the mainstay of so many of his songs. In 1936 he left for Athens to study Law, and by 1937, had learned also bouzouki and made his first musical recording. 　　In 1938, he moved to Thessaloniki, where he served his military service, and stayed there for about ten years, during the German occupation of Greece. There he became famous, opened also an ouzeri, got married and wrote many of his best songs that were later recorded after the end of the War. By the shut-down of t