Leon Gieco

León Gieco, 2005

León Gieco , full name Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco (born November 20, 1951 in Cañada Rosquín , a village in the province of Santa Fe , Argentina ) is one of the most important contemporary musicians in Argentina. In his songs, the influences of Argentine folklore are combined with rock music of western style. Leon Gieco is married and has two daughters.

biography

Leon Gieco in 1981

Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco was born on a small farm in the province of Santa Fe in northern Argentina. Soon after he was born, the family moved to the nearby village of Cañada Rosquín. León Gieco started working at the age of eight. With his earnings, he bought his first guitar and soon after began to perform in his school and a local folklore group. Sometime later, he played covers of the Rolling Stones , Beatles, and Spencer Davis Group with a local rock group, earning modest local fame. In 1965 he won a competition on the local broadcaster Canal 5 in Rosario . Four years later, in the summer of 1969, he traveled to Buenos Aires for the first time , where he came into contact with the rock scene in the Argentine capital. In November 1971 he had his first big appearance at the rock festival BA Rock II with some well-known Argentinian musicians . It was not until 1973 that he released his first record.

The first big breakthrough was his joint appearances with Raúl Porchetto, Charly García , Nito Mestre and María Rosa Yorio - a group that did not have a common repertoire, but improvised the pieces of the individual protagonists in the clubs and theaters of the Argentine capital. The corresponding record was released in 1976.

After that, Gieco performed more often alone. His performances, songs and texts brought him into conflict with the military dictatorship that had ruled since 1976 under General Jorge Rafael Videla . During the production of his third record, some songs were censored. In 1978 he escaped the stalking of the military by spending a year in Los Angeles , USA .

With his fourth album IV LP and the songs Cachito and Solo le pido a Dios published on it , the Argentine human rights movement against the dictatorship of the military and the looming war against Chile received its musical expression. Solo le pido a Dios (1978) was sung by Mercedes Sosa , among others , and developed in the 80s as a protest song of democratic Argentina. In Germany, the songwriter Hannes Wader published his own adaption on the album of the same name in 2001 under the title Wünsche . Another well-known version ("So will it day") comes from Gerhard Gundermann .

Leon Gieco's popularity continued to grow in the 80s and 90s. After the end of the military dictatorship in 1983, it continued to develop. During this time he also made his first appearances and tours in Germany (both countries at the time), Australia and Italy. He played with well-known South American and international artists such as Pete Seeger , Pablo Milanés , Chico Buarque , Peter Gabriel , Bruce Springsteen , Sting , David Byrne and Milton Nascimento . The seven CDs that were released between 2000 and 2005 show that León Gieco is far from the end of his musical career.

Discography

León Gieco, 1973
La Banda de los Caballos Cansados, 1974
El fantasma de Canterville, 1976
IV LP, 1978
Siete años, 1980
Pensar en nada, 1981
Corazón americano / El gran concierto, 1985
De Ushuaia a La Quiaca, Vol. 1-3, 1985
Semillas del corazón, 1989
Ayer y hoy, 1989
Live concert with Pete Seeger, 1990
Mensajes del alma, 1992
Desenchufado, 1994
Orozco, 1997
En el país de la libertad, 1999
De Ushuaia a La Quiaca, Vol. 4, 1999
40 obras fundamentales, 2000
Bandidos rurales, 2001
Por partida doble, 2001
El vivo de León, 2003
De Ushuaia a La Quiaca (reedición), 2005
Por favor, perdón y gracias, 2005
El ángel de la bicicleta (simple), 2005
El desembarco, 2011

Film music (selection)

2004: Familia rodante - traveling in Argentina (Familia rodante)
2005: Illuminated by fire (Iluminados por el fuego)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Gieco, Leon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Gieco, Raúl Alberto Antonio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Argentine singer
DATE OF BIRTH	November 20, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cañada Rosquín , Santa Fe, Argentina