Legendary singer Kaiti Grey is being treated in the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center ICU

What are the health problems that her doctors are treating?

Kaiti Grey has been hospitalised since Tuesday in the intensive care unit of the Onassio Cardiac Surgery Center.

According to Proto Thema, the great singer, who has indelibly marked the history of folk songs in Greece with her unique voice, is hospitalised with atrial fibrillation and a respiratory infection, and her condition is considered critical but stable.

Her advanced age – she is 99 – and her multiple health problems make intubation prohibitive. That is why her doctors follow a conservative treatment in order to stabilise her.

The sad news of Kaiti Grey’s declining health has sent shockwaves through the domestic music scene in which she starred for decades.

Life and career

Grey was born in the village of Mytilinioi in Samos with the birth name Athanasia Gizili. She has three siblings.

The Kalaitzis family adopted the singer and she grew up in Piraeus.

Initially, she became an actress in Rita Tsakona’s bands and later sang songs with Yiannis Vellas as well as other artists of the genre. Her role model was Tzimis Makoulis.

Her first song, To Marazi, was recorded in 1952 and was the creation of Giorgos Mitsakis. After the success she achieved, she managed to become the first name in the biggest centers of the time and also to sing with all the great composers of her time.

She performed the first performances of songs by composers such as: Markos Vamvakaris , Yiannis Papaioannou, Vassilis Tsitsanis, George Mitsakis, Christos Kolokotronis, Eftychia Papagiannopoulou, Kostas Virvos, Thodoros Derveniotis, Babis Bakalis, George Zambetas and Panos Tzavellas.

Grey collaborated with well-known artists such as: Roza Eskenazi, Stratos Payoumtzis, Stelios Kazantzidis, Grigoris Bithikotsis, Poly Panou, Mary Linda, Iota Lydia, Antonis Repanis, Stratos Dionysiou, Rita Sakellariou, Spyros Zagoraios, Paulinos Gavalas, George Datalalis, Eleni Galaras, Haroula Alexiou, Alkistis Protopsalti, Dimitra Galani, Antonis Vardis, Stefanos Korkolis, Christos Dantis.

In the 60’s she was the highest paid singer with a daily salary that even exceeded 8,000 drachmas. This was also recognized by the Greek courts in a legal battle that existed with a nightclub owner at the time. She recorded more than 1,500 songs, until 1996, when she retired from recording and nightclubs. In 1995, Kostas Ferris signed a contract with ANT1 to bring her legendary life to the small screen.

However, this was not to be fully achieved as the budget cost did not reach the 26 episodes the contract had been signed for. Filming took place in Greece, Turkey and Egypt, while the title song I defeated life performed by Yiannis Parios was never released on the discography.

In 2006, her autobiography was published, As I experienced them. She acted in 19 films as an actress and singer.

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