A book about the great rebetiko song and its legacy in Greek society and our contemporary culture. This book – the first to be published in English, shortly after the fall of the dictatorship and now being republished – includes writings from prominent figures and scholars: Ilias Petropoulos, Markos Drakoulis, Ted Petridis, and Sakis Papadimitriou.

It covers a variety of topics surrounding rebetiko: their origins and historical evolution, the social characteristics of the songs and their creators, the unique music, the dances – zeibekiko, hasapiko, etc. – and finally compares them to American blues. Additionally, it includes the lyrics of 54 songs, in Greek and English, 8 musical scores, and a glossary, while the accompanying illustrations are by Chronis Botsoglou.

The music, lyrics, and dance that make up the Rebetiko Song are the strong link in the chain of our culture: they continued the Byzantine and folk tradition, highlighted Zorba, established the bouzouki, revealed unknown aspects of modern creation, identified with the adventures of Hellenism in the tumultuous 20th century, and spread to and were embraced by a large part of society.