Gipsy Kings Top 10 Songs

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GipsyKings (originally Los Reyes) are a musical group founded in 1979 in Arles, France. The band, whose members have Catalan heritage, play a blend of Catalan rumba, flamenco, salsa, and pop. They perform mostly in Spanish but also mix in Catalan and languages of southern France, such as Occitan.[1]

Although the group members were born in France, their parents were mostly gitanos (Spanish Romani) who fled Spain during the 1930s Spanish Civil War. They are known for bringing rumba flamenca, a pop-oriented music distantly derived from traditional flamenco and rumba, to a worldwide audience, and for their interpretations of English-language pop hits.

In the 1970s, Jos Reyes and Manitas de Plata were a duo who played rumba flamenca in the southern French town of Arles. When they split up, Reyes began performing with his sons, Nicolas, Franois (Canut), Andr, Patcha, and Paul (Pablo), as Jos 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 musician Chico Bouchikhi, who was then married to Marthe Reyes, Jos's daughter.[2] 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 as Saint-Tropez.[3]

Success came for Gipsy Kings with their self-titled third album, released in 1987 (1989 in the United States), which included the songs "Djobi Djoba", "Bambolo", and the ballad "Un Amor". The record spent forty weeks on the US charts, one of few Spanish-language albums to do so.[4]

Chico Bouchikhi, one of the group's founding members, left in 1991 due to financial disagreements with their then-manager, Claude Martinez,[5] and went on to start his own group, Chico & the Gypsies.[6]

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.[8]

Gipsy Kings recorded a cover of Frank 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 1991 Disney Records direct-to-video album Simply Mad About the Mouse: A Musical Celebration of Imagination. Their version of Eagles' "Hotel California" was an example of fast flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic strumming; it was featured in the 1998 Coen Brothers' movie, The Big Lebowski.[9] The 2010 film Toy Story 3 featured their rendition of Randy 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.[10]

They have also collaborated with various musical artists, including Joan Baez, recording a version of "A Mi Manera" for her 1989 album, Speaking of Dreams. They recorded the song "Get Up!" with Captain Jack, from the Eurodance group's 1999 album, The Captain's Revenge. They published a cover of Bob Marley's "One Love" with his son Ziggy in 2001, and they recorded a cover of the Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Running" with Bananarama, 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" by Takagi & Ketra, with vocals by Elodie and Mariah Angeliq. A year later, they shared credits with Spanish rapper C. Tangana on the song "Ingobernable", which appeared on his album El Madrileo.

Andr Reyes performs with his own band, under the name Gipsy Kings by Andr Reyes.[14] The group consists of Andr and a number of his relatives, including his son Thomas, his nephews Kakou and Tambo, his brother Patcha, and his first cousin Mario, as well as four backing musicians.[14] In 2022, they released the album Nac Gitano.

Formed in Arles, a small village in southern France, the children of famous flamenco artist, Jose Reyes, decided to begin their own musical adventure. The brothers Nicholas and Andre Reyes joined their cousins, Jaques, Maurice and Tonino Baliardo in the early '80s, initially as a Gypsy band, performing at weddings and other functions. Whilst a popular live band, their initial releases failed to attract much attention outside of the flamenco fan base.

Desiring wider recognition of their talents, the band grew into their musical style, creating a contemporary pop twist on traditional flamenco, also incorporating eclectic influences from the Middle East, Latin America, North Africa and rock. Their unique creations found the Gipsy Kings breakout success, with two hit singles, "Djobi Djoba" and "Bamboleo" in 1987, charting highly in the French charts. Singing to Sony Music thereafter, their eponymous debut arrived in 1988, breaking the Top Ten album charts in 12 European countries, including the difficult UK market.

Things kept on getting better for the Gipsy Kings, singing with Sony in America and having their performance debut at the New York New Music Seminar in 1989. Shortly after, they were invited to play at George Bush's inaugural ball, although despite the prestigious invitation, they travelled home to rest. Performing at the Royal Albert Hall, UK, The Gipsy Kings were given the chance to perform alongside some of the greatest stars in pop, sharing the stage with the likes of Elton John and Eric Clapton.

With the US release of their debut, Gipsy Kings found huge success, spending 40 weeks at the top of the charts, becoming certified Gold. Gipsy Kings released quality albums year after year following the success of their debut, with their music being met with Gramy nominations in 1991, 1993 and 1997, before finally receiving the coveted award in 2013 for "Savor Flamenco," awarded with 'Best World Music Album.' Throughout their long and well-established career, they have toured extensively across the globe, taking little rest until slowing down after 2007's "Pasajero."

Glass of Sangria, Flamenco music, setting sun on a warm evening, all put on by Gipsy Kings. What more could you want? The rumba style flamenco music played by the legends was completely captivating, and although the outdoor venue wasn't sold out, every single audience member was enthused and dedicated to the performance by the Gipsy Kings, loving every moment. Although all of the artists began their lives in France, the authenticity of their Spanish music would never give them away. From the moment they started playing, their rhythms, harmonies, and vocals were absolutely spot on - even better than on recordings! The audience and the band worked with each other, bouncing energy between the crowd and performers. Although there were some of my favourite tracks that didn't get performed, the material that I hadn't heard before made up for it. My favourite song, Bamboleo, was the last number they performed before their encore, and left the audience hungry for more.

They really know how to work a crowd with their witty banter, involving the entire audience and gaining a massive appreciation from their fans. They get better and better, and I will be going to see them again before long...don't miss your chance!

Amazing show as expected. Only negative comments are on technical side; sound and lighting were not that great. Venue is nice but a lot of wasted space (seats were laid around the pool, to the center of the stage, so the first 5 rows faced the stage, then a large gap for no reason, then two more rows and nothing behind but the pool, with people scattered on the sides of the pool... Why waste all this space, and make it about the sights around people, rather than the show itself? It also made the atmosphere less exciting, with people spread round instead of everyone together dead center? I was lucky to get one of the last seats just ahead of the pool, right in front of the stage, but still there were SO MANY distractions with people walking right in front, between the first five rows and our two rows. It was unfortunate and hopefully the Gyspy Kings will go back to better venues like Hard Rock, House of Blues.

French/Spanish melange the Gipsy Kings have a skill in transporting you to the sunny settings of their roots in the balmy Montpellier with their instruments. With a rich family past involving Romani gypsy and escape from the Spanish civil war, the band's namesake is steeped in history and they speak fondly of their beginnings and upbringing during breaks in their chill wave set list.

Having performed as a group for over thirty years now, the Gipsy Kings are an incredibly tight operation onstage and work as one succinct piece. Performing entirely in Spanish, they get the crowds of all nationalities dancing to their flamenco style pop.

The feeling of traditionalism is really wonderful as it clear that the group has always stayed true to the music that they enjoy making and it obviously has personal resonance too. This dedication has paid off with critical accolade including Grammy awards as well as complete support from their audience who applaud the band intently during the final bows.

I love the gipsy kings, and have most of my life, but the show we saw last night was not the gipsy kings that I know. The singing was average, at best. the crowd really supported them, but there were too many "original" band members missing. they should announce ahead of time that there will be a number of "stand in" band members. We did enjoy the show, overall.

First time I saw them on tV was in 1989 as they opened up Disneyworld in Paris . Loved their music . I have seen them in concert at least 5 or 6 times in Texas . I was a little disappointed that most members are not original . They put on a great show / great music as you can see on you tube .

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