[1] Savvopoulos was born in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece (December 1944) in a middle-class family.

In Athens, he began singing and playing guitar in various night clubs and became closely associated with the so-called Greek New Wave.

Although Savvopoulos was not famed for his voice, his talent in songwriting impressed Alekos Patsifas, the director of the LYRA record company in Greece which was specializing in artists of the Greek New Wave, who signed him.

Despite this, he was kept on the label's roster and continued with a string of highly successful albums, with self-penned songs combining arrangements reminiscent of early Frank Zappa and politically incisive lyrics in the style of Bob Dylan, with folk tunes from Macedonia, Thrace, and Rebetiko music.

In 1967, Savvopoulos was briefly imprisoned and beaten for his political convictions by the Greek military junta of 1967-1974, led by the dictator George Papadopoulos.