Real name: Εμμανουήλ Χατζιδάκις = Emmanuel Hatzidakes

Effective period / Period of releases: 1954 - 2009

Greek composer. Born 23 October 1925 in Xanthi, Greece - Died 15 June 1994 in Athens, Greece.
In the late 1940s, he was the first to publicly appraise (and adapt on his piano works) "rebetika", the urban underground songs that followed the Asia Minor refugee influx to the country in 1922. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he became immensely popular with his pop compositions and movie soundtracks. In 1960, his song "Never on Sunday" from the film of the same name earned him an Oscar for Best Original Song. Among others he collaborated with Nana Mouskouri and went on to produce numerous stage soundtracks and concept albums. In 1985, he started his own record company Σείριος. In 1989, he founded the Orchestra of Colours and served as its first conductor. He re-organized, and served as its manager (1975-1982), ΕΡΤ's radio Third Program.
Stepfather of Γιώργος Θεοφανόπουλος/Γιώργος Χατζιδάκις.