Pagioumtzis was born in 1904 in Asia Minor and he migrated to Greece before 1919.
Together with Giorgos Batis, Anestis Delias, and Markos Vamvakaris, they formed the now legendary rebetiko quartet I Tetras.
Pagioumtzis had a beautiful voice which earned him wide recognition. He is considered as one of the greatest singers of the classical rebetiko era. Pagioumtzis recorded over 400 songs with his voice and worked with many well-known composers, he died of a stroke on 16 November 1971 in New York, after completing a concert in a Greek nightclub.