It was released in 1969 and is considered one of the most commercial - if not the most commercial - record of the Greek discography. The unique timeless success of "Dromou" is due to the fact that Mimis Plessas and Lefteris Papadopoulos managed to "catch" an entire modern Greek period, while the well-known voice of Poulopoulos from Greek films, "took off" the record, while it matched harmoniously with the wonderful performances by Rena Koumiotis and Popi Asteriadis.
"Sunday dawns" was written to remind us of the anticipation for democracy, while it is worth noting that all the tracks except "Sunday dawns" and "Frangokkleisa" do not have a chorus.
More specifically, in 1969 Mimis Plessas and Lefteris Papadopoulos had already created their first joint hits for Greek cinema:"Don't talk to the child", "I'll drink the moon tonight", "Open stone", songs that leave their mark them even today.
Their collaboration had also led to a close friendship while they spent several hours at each other's houses.
As the ellinikoskinimatografos.gr archive reports, one evening, M. Plessas had visited L. Papadopoulos at his home, when the latter received a phone call from the newspaper "Ta Nea" where he had been working since then as a journalist.
Waiting for him, Mimis Plessas was fiddling with some papers spread out on his desk. "I started reading and I felt an indescribable tenderness flood me. Lefteris' writings described my teenage years in the Occupation. I collected what I found there in front of me - there were twelve", the composer has stated.
With the songs in hand, M. Plessas asked L. Papadopoulos for permission to set them to music. The lyricist reluctantly gave them to him.
He didn't think they could be made into songs, since most of them didn't have the traditional "verse-chorus" form.
Two days later Mimis Plessas had composed them all (all twelve). The two creators present the songs to the then director of LYRA, Alekos Patsifas, who also gives the title to the work:"The Road".
Disk preparation continues at the same lightning fast pace:
The recording of the orchestra in the studios of "Columbia" lasts only ten hours. "It's as if the musicians who came to play already knew the work!", notes M. Plessas.
Two days later, the singers (Yiannis Poulopoulos, Rena Koumiotis and Popi Asteriadis) come and record the songs "once and for all".
The contributors are enthusiastic about the material, but can't agree on which of the twelve songs stands out as "the hit of the record".
Pacifos is in favor of "Sunday dawns", Plessas is in favor of "My girl is drunk tonight", while Papadopoulos likes "I took a cloud two places" the most.
The record is released, it exceeds 50,000 sales (it has been registered as the first "gold" Greek record) but - in the middle of a dictatorship - it is not played by the state radio.
The play "The Road", based on the songs from the record, presented at the "Katina Paxinou" theater, is hurriedly taken down due to censorship interventions.
Only after the restoration of democracy will the record show its potential.
The songs become - one after the other and with "Agalma" in particular - hits. To date, "Dromos" has sold over 2,000,000 copies and is considered perhaps the most commercial record in the history of Greek discography.
The disc's track listing with six tracks per side
A1 Maria laughed - Yiannis Poulopoulos
A2 Fragoklisa Yiannis Poulopoulos – Popi Asteriadis
A3 My girl is drunk tonight - Yannis Poulopoulos
A4 The Madman – Yiannis Poulopoulos
A5 First time – Rena Koumiotis
A6 I got a cloud in two places - Giannis Poulopoulos
B1 Sunday dawns - Yiannis Poulopoulos
B2 Myrsini puts on the white - Yiannis Poulopoulos
B3 Twelve mandolins – Yannis Poulopoulos
B4 The Statue - Giannis Poulopoulos
B5 Give Me Your Mouth – Rena Koumioti
B6 A Deep Silence Fallen - Giannis Poulopoulos