For more than 35 years, a French group consisting of gypsies singing in the Andalusian version of Spanish has been haunting the minds and hearts of fans of flamenco music.
They call themselves gypsy kings or barons - "Gypsy Kings". In this way, the musicians emphasize the nobility of their own and the creativity to which they have dedicated their lives.
Language of songs
For Spanish speakers, the sound of the Jeepsie Kings songs may seem strange. They are not written in its classical version, but in the Andalusian dialect.
It differs, firstly, by the presence of an original vocabulary characteristic only for this dialect, and secondly, by pronunciation. For example, it does not have that interdental muffled “c” that is characteristic of classical phonetics.
Discography
"Gypsy Kings" recorded 9 albums. The last one was released in 2012 and was awarded the Grammy Award. This work is distinguished by the fact that for the first time in its long history, the “barons” themselves wrote all the song material. In addition, they worked on this disc without the participation of the producer.
According to Tonino Baliardo, the lead guitarist of the Gypsy Kings, music has always been their passion, it remains so even after so many years of touring and studio work. They have matured, creatively developed.
Biography
All the musicians of this ensemble come from two families, from time immemorial living in the south of France, but who spoke Spanish and inherited the flamenco culture from their ancestors, who once moved here.
All men in this collective are hereditary musicians.
The Gypsy Kings group was formed in the city of Arles, in southern France. It happened in the seventies of the 20th century. Then the Reyes brothers, the sons of the famous guitarist Jose Reyes, who played in the flamenco style, with their relatives Paco, Maurice and Tony Bagliardo joined the new group. Jose once accompanied the famous singer Matthias de Plata on guitar. The duo contributed to a new surge of interest in flamenco music, and more precisely, in its Latin American version, which is called flamenco rumba, or gypsy rumba.
At one point, the guitarist left Matthias de Plata and, together with his sons, organized his own ensemble, which he called Los Reyes. The team was a true gypsy group. They traveled all over France, playing at weddings and other celebrations. Also often performed simply on the streets. Later, the musicians changed their name to "Gypsy Kings", emphasizing their belonging to the gypsy nobility and designating their lifestyle. In addition, the name Reyes can also be translated as "king".
Way to success
They began to be invited to lush parties hosted by representatives of the upper classes of society. They were frequent guests in places like St. Tropez and the like. Despite this, the first two albums of the group did not receive much public attention. At that time, the Gypsy Kings played traditional flamenco. Usually Nicholas sang, and Tony Bagliardo played the solo guitar.
The composition of the group has not changed much since then.
The most difficult solo parts are usually trusted by Tony, whose right hand is the working hand, while some other members of the collective are left-handed.
Self-titled album
Famous they woke up after the release of the third album. This disc bears the same name as the group "Jeepsie Kings".
It was then that the world first heard such hits as Djobi djoba, Bamboleo, the romantic ballad Un amor. The group instantly achieved great success in Europe and Africa, as well as in eastern countries.
The Gypsy Kings toured the United States of America in 1990. By that time, their self-titled album lasted 40 weeks in the charts of this country. In the entire history of recording, only units of Hispanic records have managed to achieve such a result. The Gipsy Kings concert, videotaped during that trip, was subsequently released on DVD.