Marika Ninou was one of the leading Greek vocalists during the early-'50s. Her 78 rpm recordings provided a voice for the compositions of Vasilis Tsitsanis, Manolis Hiotis, Yannis Papaioanou, Yorgos Mitsakis, and Apostolas Kaldaras. A native of Causasus, Ninou came to Athens in 1948, performing an acrobatic act with her husband and son. Her vocal talents soon attracted attention, however, as she was invited to sing with Stellakis Perpiniadis at the Florida club in Alexandria. She followed this stint with a series of performances with pianist and composer Vassilis Tsitsanis, who remained her accompanist for the remainder of her career. Performing her debut concerts in the United States, in 1955, with Kostas Kaplanis, Ninou began to suffer from cancer. She died the following year. ~ Craig Harris