Smyrna Minore, performed by Marika Papagika and recorded in New York, 1919.

Marika Papagika was a popular Greek singer in the early 20th century and one of the first Greek women singers to be heard on sound recordings. Marika Papagika was born on the island of Kos on September 1, 1890. In late 1913 or early 1914, she recorded for the Gramophone Company in Alexandria, Egypt. Only one of those recordings has so far been found. She emigrated to America through Ellis Island in 1915 with her husband, Kostas (Gus) Papagikas, a cymbalom player who was also her accompanist. In July 1918, she made her first trial recording in the States for Victor Records, though her first published Victor recordings were made in December of that year. In July, 1919 she also began recording for Columbia Records. Marika Papagika was thus among the first to record Greek music in the USA. By 1925, Marika and Kostas had opened a nightclub in New York on W. 34th St near 8th Ave, called Marika's, likely the first gathering place characterized by Greek cuisine and Greek music to appear in the States. Between 1918 and 1929, she recorded at least 232 performances. Marika's was a successful business until the Great Depression. The club closed in 1930, and Marika Papagika's recording career ended, except for four sides recorded for Victor in 1937.

Marika Papagika distinguished herself from most of her contemporaries by virtue of her sweet soprano voice with its relatively high tessitura, her vocal timbre, and her diction. The style and sound of her recordings is further distinguished by the particular accompaniment which graced most of them, namely the unusual combination of cymbalom and violoncello, plus a violin or a clarinet, and, very occasionally, a xylophone. Her occasional forays into more purely Western songs also set her apart from her female contemporaries on both sides of the Atlantic. It is perhaps reasonable to understand her performance style as a true echo of the santouri and violin music of late 19th century Greece.

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