Yiannis Spartakos (Spartakos-Ioannis Anastasiou) was born in Athens in 1914. He studied piano at the Hellenic Conservatory. From a teenage age he began to accompany screenings of silent films and then to perform professionally in vaudeville shows and cabarets. He collaborated with great success with Rena Vlachopoulou, Alekos Sakellarios and Christos Hairopoulos.

During the 1940s - 1960s he established himself as an orchestra director in the music centers of Athens. He performed in various countries in Europe, America and the Middle East. Many of his compositions made great commercial success and were performed by important Greek artists.

He was one of the first Greek composers to deal with jazz.

He died in Athens in 2001.