Iovan Tsaous was born near Konya, Turkey in 1896. His real name was Iannis Eitziridis. His reputation was established by the time he was 18; he is said to have performed with singing star Hafis Burhan Sesiylmaz for Sultan Hamit. In 1922 or 23 he migrated to Piraeus and worked as a tailor, refusing to become a full time musician because he “didn’t want to play for whores.” Tsaous made a few records of his own tunes set to lyrics by his wife Aikaterini.