Sofia Vembo (Greek: Σοφία Î'Îμπο; 10 February 1910, in
Gallipoli, East Thrace, Turkey â€" 10 March 1978, in Athens, Greece)
was a leading Greek singer and actress active from the interwar period
to the early postwar years and the 1950s. She became best known for
her performance of patriotic songs during the Greco-Italian War, when
she was dubbed the "Songstress of Victory".Vembo's real name was Efi
Bembou (Έφη ΜπÎμποu). She was born in Gallipoli (Turkish:
Gelibolu; Greek: Καλλίπολη, i.e. "beautiful city"), Eastern
Thrace - Turkey, in 1910, but after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, her
family moved to Tsaritsani in Greece, where her father became a
tobacco worker, and later to Volos in Greece.She began her career in
Thessaloniki in the early 1930s. In the winter of 1933, she was hired
by the theater operator Fotis Samartzis of the Kentrikon theater for
the revue "Parrot 1933". She then began to record romantic songs for
the Columbia company, achieving fame because of her distinctly
sonorous contralto voice.Her reputation, however, skyrocketed after
the Italian attack on Greece on 28 October 1940, when her performance
of patriotic and satirical songs became a major inspiration for the
fighting soldiers as well as the people at large for whom she quickly
became a folk heroine. At the same time, she offered 2,000 gold pounds
from her own fortune to the Hellenic Navy. Following the German
invasion and occupation of the country in April 1941, she was
transported to the Middle East, where she continued to perform for the
Greek troops in exile.
Gallipoli, East Thrace, Turkey â€" 10 March 1978, in Athens, Greece)
was a leading Greek singer and actress active from the interwar period
to the early postwar years and the 1950s. She became best known for
her performance of patriotic songs during the Greco-Italian War, when
she was dubbed the "Songstress of Victory".Vembo's real name was Efi
Bembou (Έφη ΜπÎμποu). She was born in Gallipoli (Turkish:
Gelibolu; Greek: Καλλίπολη, i.e. "beautiful city"), Eastern
Thrace - Turkey, in 1910, but after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, her
family moved to Tsaritsani in Greece, where her father became a
tobacco worker, and later to Volos in Greece.She began her career in
Thessaloniki in the early 1930s. In the winter of 1933, she was hired
by the theater operator Fotis Samartzis of the Kentrikon theater for
the revue "Parrot 1933". She then began to record romantic songs for
the Columbia company, achieving fame because of her distinctly
sonorous contralto voice.Her reputation, however, skyrocketed after
the Italian attack on Greece on 28 October 1940, when her performance
of patriotic and satirical songs became a major inspiration for the
fighting soldiers as well as the people at large for whom she quickly
became a folk heroine. At the same time, she offered 2,000 gold pounds
from her own fortune to the Hellenic Navy. Following the German
invasion and occupation of the country in April 1941, she was
transported to the Middle East, where she continued to perform for the
Greek troops in exile.
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