The Gipsy Kings may not be a household
name in the U.S., but it’s safe to say that many
Americans have gotten a taste of their sound. The band’s
flamenco-tinged version of the Eagles’ “Hotel
California” was featured in the popular 1998 film
“The Big Lebowski.” However, the Gipsy Kings
got their start much earlier.
The band was first formed in the 1970s in a village
called Arles in southern France when two sons of well-known
flamenco musician Jose Reyes, Andre and Nicolas Reyes,
got together with cousins Maurice, Jacques, and Tonino
Baliardo, the sons of Manitas de Plata, another legendary
flamenco artist. First known as Los Reyes, the band
played in the streets and at festivals and weddings.
Eventually, they changed their name to the Gipsy Kings
in honor of their nomadic lifestyle. The band played
traditional flamenco music, with Nicolas providing vocals,
but the Gipsy Kings didn’t meet with immediate
success. Their first two releases attracted little attention,
though they did maintain a solid fan base.
Then, in 1986, the Gipsy Kings were discovered by producer
Claude Martinez, who helped the band combine its traditional
sound with some contemporary influences. Despite the
warnings of flamenco purists who felt the new sound
was guaranteed to fail, the Gipsy Kings prevailed. The
1987 independent releases “Djobi Djoba”
and “Bamboleo” spawned a pair of big hits
in France and led to a contract with Sony music. A self-titled
album followed and soon broke into the Top Ten in several
European nations, including the notoriously hard-to-crack
English charts. The Gipsy Kings soon signed with Sony’s
U.S. arm, and in 1989, the band garnered an invitation
to perform at George H.W. Bush’s inaugural ball.
Though they declined, Gipsy Kings concert tickets kept
selling at a furious pace, and the Gipsy Kings played
a standing room only show at the Royal Albert Hall.
Their U.S. debut album spent 40 weeks on the chart,
reaching gold status.
The Gipsy Kings followed that success with 13 more
releases, the last of which was 2004’s “Roots.”
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