Background
He was born in Chania, Crete, the first son of a refugee family from Asia Minor.
He was born in Chania, Crete, the first son of a refugee family from Asia Minor.
Since his earliest years, he demonstrated his interest and his talent in music He was already a music professional at the age of 16. His virtuoso bouzouki-playing made him famous on the popular music stages of Chania.
He went to Athens in the 1960s, where he made his big break into the Greek popular musical scene as a composer.
The song What can you do, with only one heart (Greek: Τί να σου Κάνει μια Καρδιά), with lyrics by Eftihia Papagiannopoulou, signaled the start of his national career. He has three daughters, from which one, Maria Katinari, is continuing his music work as a singer and songwriter.
Katinaris was married to Maria Rippi, herself a singer and member of a famous musicians family.