N°59 GIPSY KINGS - SOY

Let's stay spanish since we already got there with Lana's family name. Del Rey = King so the Gipsy Kings were the obvious follow up.

The Gipsy Kings consist of members of two families. The family Reyes who take care of most of the vocals and tha family Galiardo which are just guitar players. Chicko Bouchikhi was also a founding member but he left in 1989.

Although singing in Spanish and bringing a mix of flamenco music with gipsy Romani influences they are actually all French natives. Their ancesters fled Andalucia during the Spanish civil war though in the 1930's. And I always though they were Mexican Americans or something. Big mistake.

In 1982 and 1983 they released their very first two albums but not with the biggest success but the self titled Gipsy Kings album from 1988 boomed their popularity especially with the number 1 hit Volare. Apart from Volare they scored also with songs such as Escucha Me and Bamboleo. And if you liked the Eagles a few posts earlier you definately have to check out their version of Hotel California. Sung in Spanish but with super fast paced flamneco guitars make it a special song. I believe it was used in the cultfiulm The Big Lebowski as well.

Apart from that film they also contributed to Toy Story 3.

Gipsy Kings released about 20 albums in almost 30 years and if you like Spanish flamenco rythms it's most certainly somthing to set yout mind on.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend !