Gipsy Kings

infobox musical artist
Name = Gipsy Kings

---

Img_capt = The band playing live
Background = group_or_band
Origin =
Genre = Flamenco Rumba
URL = http://www.gipsykings.com/
Current_members =Nicolas Reyes
Paul Reyes
Canut Reyes
Patchai Reyes
Andre Reyes
Diego Baliardo
Paco Baliardo
Tonino Baliardo
Past_members = Chico Bouchikhi
Jorge Trasante

Gipsy Kings are a music group from Arles and Montpellier, France. Though from France, their parents were "gitanos" who fled Spain during the Spanish Civil War. They are known for bringing Rumba Catalana, a pop-oriented version of traditional flamenco music, to worldwide audiences. Their music has a particular Rumba Flamenca style, with pop influences; many songs of the Gipsy Kings fit social dances, such as Salsa and Rumba. Their music has been described as a place where "Spanish flamenco and Romani rhapsody meet salsa funk". [cite web
last =Matthews
first =Janie
title =Gipsy Kings
publisher =Rolling Stone
date =Februaru 23, 1989
url =http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/118881/review/5940758?utm_source=Rhapsody&utm_medium=CDreview.jhtml
accessdate =2007-07-04 ]

Musical background

They explained the evolution of their sound in the 1996 PBS documentary of their lives and music "Tierra Gitana (Gipsy Ground)". Young brothers Nicolas, Canut and Paul Reyes accompanied their father, famed flamenco singer Jose Reyes, who started out singing "cante jondo (deep song)", traditional flamenco with long-running themes of passion, love, death, etc. But they began playing rumba flamenca because "we liked to watch pretty girls dance," said Nicolas.

Latin American beats had been joined with flamenco by "gitanos" since at least the 1950s, mixing complex strumming with rhythmic, percussive tapping on their guitars' tops. The new Reyes generation — soon to meet and join up with three guitar-playing brothers from the Baliardo family — began creating more pop-oriented songs. They played at "roma" parties and at street corners until they got their chance to record under the group's new name, Gipsy Kings.

Sharp-eyed individuals might have noted that all the left-handed members of the group play guitars strung upside-down; this is usually as a result of the individuals' not having their own guitars when growing-up. Borrowing and playing a right-hander's the wrong way up was the only way to learn.

Band's story

They became popular with their self-titled first album, "Gipsy Kings", which included the songs "Djobi Djoba [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVb5araL39k&feature=related] ", "Bamboleo [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTrIFMVKQD8&feature=related] " and the romantic ballad "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 and throughout Europe along with the middle east. 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"). Also in '91, for a multi-artist project called "Simply Mad About the Mouse" — a compilation of new versions of songs from Disney films — the Kings contributed an annaly-crafted, fast-paced "rumba flamenca" version of "I've Got No Strings" from "Pinocchio" - replete with feverish flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic hand-claps ("palmas"). The lyrics' enthusiasm for freedom, not being tied down, fit the gipsy creed perfectly.

Their 1993 album "Love and Liberte" won the Latin Grammy Award for "Best Pop Album of the Year," and contained the enduring song "Montana," an emotional account of gipsies chased from their birthplace by prejudice and persecution.

The '95 compilation "The Best of the Gipsy Kings" went platinum, staying on the charts more than one year. Albums "Mosaique," "Allegria," "Este Mundo," "Gipsy Kings Live," "Love & Liberte," "Tierra Gitana," "Cantos de Amor" and "Volare! - the Very Best of the Gipsy Kings" went gold. [ [http://www.nonesuch.com/Hi_Band/gipsy_frame.html Nonesuch Records] ]

Lead guitarist Tonino Baliardo — who has always written the group's instrumentals — released his first solo album, "Essences", in 2001; a second self-titled one followed in 2003.

Flamenco purists criticized their use of drum kits, electronic bass, and electronic keyboards and rock and reggae beats. Defenders say they helped create a new style.

Gipsy Kings' total album sales worldwide now exceed 18 million; they're touring worldwide again in 2007. They are the world's best-selling music group from France in history, according to 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 granddaughter. Nicolas, Canut, Paul, Andre and Patchai Reyes are sons of flamenco singer 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: backup vocals, guitar
* 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

* "Allegria" (1982)
* "Luna de Fuego" (1983)
* "Gipsy Kings" (1988)
* "Mosaique" (1989)
* "Allegria (US Version)" (1990)
* "Este Mundo" (1991)
* "Live" (1992)
* "Love and Liberté" (1993)
* "Greatest Hits" (1994)
* "The Best of the Gipsy Kings" (1995)
* "Estrellas" (1995)
* "Tierra Gitana" (1996)
* "Compas" (1997)
* "Cantos de Amor" (1998)
* "" (1999, re-released in 2000)
* "Somos Gitanos" (2001)
* "Roots" (2004)
* "Pasajero" (2006)
* "The Very Best Of (2008)

Live Recordings

Gipsy Kings recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for "Live from Abbey Road" in the summer of 2006. The episode also included performances by Natasha Bedingfield and Iron Maiden and aired on the Sundance Channel in the USA and on Channel 4 in the UK.

References

External links

* [http://www.gipsykings.com Official homepage]
* [http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=GipsyKingsOfficial Gipsy Kings Official Youtube Channel]
* [http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=masterg1390 Gipsy Kings Live at Royal Albert Hall]
* [http://www.netwave.or.jp/~tierra/Gipsy_Kings/album.html Gipsy Kings Discography]
* [http://www.esflamenco.com/bio/en10312.html The Gipsy Kings' biography and discography]
* [http://www.calarumba.com/castellano/artistas.asp?id=10 Gipsy King's info, concerts and more ]