Composer Phoebus posted an emotional public farewell on Instagram to singer Dimitris Kokotas, who passed away on Tuesday, August 25, at age 57, following more than two years of hospitalization at the Georgios Gennimatas hospital, after a heart attack and cardiac arrest that he had suffered during a television rehearsal for the J2US show. The two collaborated in the 1990s, and Phoebus was the man who opened the door for Kokotas into discography.
Composer Phoebus has broken his usual silence on social media to share a deeply personal tribute to his longtime friend and artistic partner, Dimitris Kokotas. The singer passed away at the Georgios Gennimatas hospital following more than two years of medical treatment after suffering a heart attack and cardiac arrest during television rehearsals for the J2US show. The composer, through his post, revealed that the two of them had known each other since around 1992 and had shared many experiences and dreams that remained indelible in his heart and mind.
I don’t know if there are enough words to say goodbye to a man who marked your life in such a special way, Phoebus wrote initially in the caption of his Instagram post, where he published two photographs of them from that era.
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A Friendship Forged in the 1990s Music Scene
The creative partnership between the composer and the artist existed during a period when many great singers and composers flourished. Phoebus was the man who opened the door for Dimitris Kokotas into discography and absolute success. The 1990s was the golden age of Greek song.
The relationship was more than professional. Young and both at the beginning of their journey, without knowing it then, they were starting together one of the most beautiful chapters of their lives. In his public message, the composer recalled endless hours in Kifissia where they lived, with walks, discussions, laughter, studios, music, and countless times at Karavi in Schinias, belonging to their friend Babis. They were two kids dreaming, fighting, and believing that everything was ahead of them. They became close friends very quickly because they were the same age and had common friends, spending a lot of time together outside the studio as well, forming one of the few people Phoebus trusted.
Ο Φοίβος αποχαιρετά τον Δημήτρη Κόκοτα
Milestone Records and Hit Collaborations
While Phoebus acquired his first platinum record with Atofio Hrysafi with Katy Garbi, his second platinum record was his collaboration with Dimitris Kokotas on Syneidisi in 1995. Together they made songs that were loved and stood the test of time.
Although artistic paths diverged at various points over the years, their friendship never faded. Dimitris Kokotas stated that we never fought,
and years later, when journalists asked him again about Phoebus, he characterized him as an excellent composer and lyricist, declaring that he remained his supporter. Phoebus noted that even though over the years there were times when they drifted apart, life never managed to erase their bond.
Ο άγνωστος Δημήτρης Κόκοτας
An Emotional Farewell Across Social Media
The composer’s Instagram tribute detailed qualities that went beyond professional output, writing with a long message of the kind he does not usually write:
Dimitris was not only a great singer. He was a pure, generous, authentic man, with rare kindness and a nobility that didn’t need to be proven. And above all, he was a friend. From those friends that life can push away for a little while, but never manages to erase.
The composer added that today, facing his loss, all of that seems small compared to what they shared as human beings, concluding his message with the words: Dimitris, I bid you farewell with gratitude.
