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Gipsy Kings | |
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_jm17802.jpg) Gipsy Kings performing in 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Origin | Arles andMontpellier, France |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | |
| Spinoffs |
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| Spinoff of | José et Los Reyes |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | gipsykings |
Gipsy Kings (originallyLos Reyes) are a musical group founded in 1979 inArles, France. The band, whose members haveCatalan heritage,[1] play a blend ofCatalan rumba,[1]flamenco,salsa, andpop. They perform mostly in Spanish but also mix inCatalan, French, and languages of southern France, such asOccitan.[2]
Although the group members were born in France, their parents were mostlygitanos (SpanishRomani) who fled Spain during the 1930sSpanish Civil War. They are known for bringingrumba flamenca, a pop-oriented music distantly derived from traditional flamenco andrumba, to a worldwide audience, and for their interpretations of English-language pop hits.
In the 1970s, José Reyes andManitas de Plata were a duo who playedrumba flamenca in the southern French town ofArles. When they split up, Reyes began performing with his sons, Nicolas,François (Canut), André, Patchaï, and Paul (Pablo), as José et Los Reyes (as well as being their family name,reyes means "kings" in Spanish). After their father's death in 1979, the brothers continued to perform, joined by their cousins Diego, Paco, and Tonino Baliardo (nephews of Manitas de Plata), as well as French Moroccan musicianChico Bouchikhi, who was then married to Marthe Reyes, José's daughter.[3] Traveling around France and playing at weddings, festivals, and in the streets as a gypsy band, they adopted the moniker Gipsy Kings, with Nicolas as lead vocalist and Tonino on lead guitar. Later, they were hired to play at upper-class parties in such places asSaint-Tropez.[4]
Their first two albums,Allegria (1982) andLuna de Fuego (1983), attracted little notice.
Success came for Gipsy Kings with theirself-titled third album, released in 1987 (1989 in the United States), which included the songs "Djobi Djoba", "Bamboléo", and the ballad "Un Amor". The record spent forty weeks on the US charts, one of few Spanish-language albums to do so.[5]
Pablo Reyes left the group in 1988, due to hearing problems.[6]
Chico Bouchikhi, one of the group's founding members, left in 1991 due to financial disagreements with their then-manager, Claude Martinez,[6] and went on to start his own group,Chico & the Gypsies.[7]
Between 1989 and 2013, the band released nine studio albums:Mosaïque (1989),Este Mundo (1991),Love and Liberté (1993),Estrellas (1995),Compas (1997),Somos Gitanos (2001),Roots (2004),Pasajero (2006), andSavor Flamenco (2013). Their latest,Evidence, came out in 2018.Savor Flamenco won aGrammy Award for Best Global Music Album in 2014.[8] In 1992, they issued the concert albumLive.
The band have been criticised by flamenco purists, but Nicolas Reyes has said in an interview that the flamenco world is not in great shape itself, and that the band are proud of their success. Their 1997 album,Compas, however, contains more traditional flamenco music.[9]
Gipsy Kings recorded a cover ofFrank Sinatra's "My Way", entitled "A Mi Manera", which was included on their 1987 self-titled album. They covered "I've Got No Strings" for the 1991Disney Recordsdirect-to-video albumSimply Mad About the Mouse: A Musical Celebration of Imagination. Their version ofEagles' "Hotel California" was an example of fast flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic strumming; it was featured in the 1998Coen Brothers' movie,The Big Lebowski.[10] The 2010 filmToy Story 3 featured their rendition ofRandy Newman's "You've Got a Friend in Me" in a Spanish-language version, titled "Hay un Amigo en Mi", and the group performed it in a recognizable flamenco style.[11]
They have also collaborated with various musical artists, includingJoan Baez, recording a version of "A Mi Manera" for her 1989 album,Speaking of Dreams. They recorded the song "Get Up!" withCaptain Jack, from the Eurodance group's 1999 album,The Captain's Revenge. They published a cover ofBob Marley's "One Love" with his sonZiggy in 2001, and they recorded a cover ofthe Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Running" withBananarama, under the pseudonym Alma de Noche, which was included on a 2013 re-issue of the girl band's 1991 album,Pop Life. In 2020, they featured on the song "Ciclone" byTakagi & Ketra, with vocals byElodie andMariah Angeliq. A year later, they shared credits with Spanish rapperC. Tangana on the song "Ingobernable", which appeared on his albumEl Madrileño.
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Individual members of the band have toured with their own projects and released solo albums. In 1989, Canut Reyes publishedBoléro,[12] and in 2012, his second album,Gitano, came out.
Tonino Baliardo released an instrumental album in 2001, titledEssences.[13] He followed it two years later withTonino Baliardo. In 2023, he issuedRenaissance, under the name of his touring band, Gipsy Kings featuring Tonino Baliardo.
In 2022, Nicolas Reyes and Moroccan musicianSaad Lamjarred collaborated to pay tribute toKing Mohammed VI onThrone Day, releasing a song called "Viva El Rey Habibna".[14]
André Reyes performs with his own band, under the name Gipsy Kings by André Reyes.[15] The group consists of André and a number of his relatives, including his son Thomas, his nephews Kakou and Tambo, his brother Patchaï, and his first cousin Mario, as well as four backing musicians.[15] In 2022, they released the albumNací Gitano.
Patchaï Reyes performs as Gitano Family with his son.[6]
Founding memberChico Bouchikhi tours with his bandChico & the Gypsies. They have released numerous albums since 1992.
Gipsy Kings originally consisted of two parent families: Reyes and Baliardo. The Reyes brothers, sons of Jose Reyes, are nephews ofManitas de Plata, while the Baliardo brothers are his sons.[16]
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