Hanoum Sevas

Sevas Hanoum's real name was Sevasti Papadopoulou (Σεβαστή Παπαδοπούλου). She was born in the village of Kokinogia near Drama in northern Greece on 8 September 1931. Her parents, Anestis and Vasiliki, were Pontioi, refugees from Samsun, on the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey. A relatively wealthy family, they had settled in Drama. She had a half-brother Stelios from her mother's first marriage. The family later moved to Thessaloniki. By the age of 13 or 14, she had already shown her love for singing, performing in various centers in Thessaloniki, despite the objections of her parents.

In 1949 she moved to Athens where she made her first recording, the song "Omorfi Peiraiotissa" (Όμορφη Πειραιώτισσα) by Kostas Kaplanis, together with Takis Mpinis. In 1951 while performing at the "Jimis o Hontros" (Τζίμης ο Χοντρός) club, the proprietor changed her name to the Arabic/Turkish sounding Sheba Hanoum (Σεβάς Χανούμ), apparently to fit better with the oriental-style songs that she sang.