Gipsy Kings

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Gipsy Kings

Gipsy Kings are a group from Arles and Montpellier in France. Their parents fled from Spain during the Spanish Civil War. They are Calé (Gitano) musicians, best known for bringing Rumba Catalana, a pop-oriented version of traditional flamenco music to mainstream audiences, a kind of Rumba Flamenca. Many songs of the Gipsy Kings fit social dances, such as Samba, Salsa and Rumba.

...when all six strum cross-rhythms, it is one of the more awesome... sounds on the contemporary music scene.[1]


They explained the evolution of their sound in the 1995 PBS documentary of their lives and music "Tierra Gitana (Gipsy Ground)." Young brothers Nicholas, Canut and Paul Reyes accompanied their father Jose, who started out singing "cante jondo (deep song)," traditional flamenco with long-running themes of passion, love, death, etc. Traditional flamenco song forms were not danced to except by "really great flamenco dancers," said Nicholas, explaining that when they played parties then... "we like pretty girls. We like to watch them dance... so for us to get girls to dance, to get women to dance, it's the rumba."

These rumba rythms - incorporating complex strumming/percussion tapping on the guitar - had been mixed with flamenco since at least the 1950's, but the new Reyes generation -soon to meet and join up with three guitar-playing brothers from the Baliardo family - began writing more pop-oriented songs. They played parties, restaurants and street corners until they got their chance to record under the group's new name, Gipsy Kings.

They became popular with their self-titled first album, Gipsy Kings, which included the songs "Djobi Djoba", "Bamboleo" and "Un Amor". The song "Volare" on their second album Mosaique is a rumba version of Domenico Modugno's Italian hit "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu". The Gipsy Kings were enormously popular in France; despite harsh criticism from flamenco purists, others credit them with helping develop a new musical style. They were also successful throughout Europe. In 1989, Gipsy Kings was released in the United States and it spent 40 weeks on the charts, one of very few Spanish language albums to do so. Their cover version of "Hotel California" is an excellent example of fast flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic strumming (this version was featured in the Coen Brothers' movie The Big Lebowski). In 1991 the Gipsy Kings provided flamenco guitar and backing vocals on Bananarama's version of "Long Train Running", using the pseudonym "Alma de Noche" ("Soul of the Night").

Their 1993 album "Love and Liberte" won the Latin Grammy Award for "Best Pop Album of the Year."

Lead guitarist Tonino Baliardo - who has always written the group's instrumentals - releaed his own self-titled instrumental album in 2003.

Gipsy Kings' total album sales worldwide now exceed 17 million; they're touring worldwide again in 2007. They are the world's best-selling music group from France in history, according their website, where dates and places of their current tour can be found.

Gipsy Kings are members of two related families: the Reyes and the Baliardos (Reyes means Kings in Spanish). They are cousins of the flamenco great Manitas de Plata, lead guitarist Tonino Baliardo married his grand-daughter. Nicolas, Canut, Paul and Patchai Reyes are sons of flamenco great Jose Reyes. The Gipsy Kings are:

  • Nicolas Reyes: lead vocals, guitar
  • Paul Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
  • Canut Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
  • Patchai Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
  • Andre Reyes: guitar/vocals
  • Diego Baliardo: guitar
  • Paco Baliardo: guitar
  • Tonino Baliardo: lead guitar
  • Chico Bouchikhi was also a member of the Gipsy Kings, but quit after the album Mosaique.

Discography

External links

Source

  1. ^ [Guitar Extra, Fall 1990]
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