Latin American beats had been joined with flamenco by gitanos since at least the 1950s, mixing complex strumming with rhythmic, percussive tapping on their guitars' tops. The new Reyes generation — soon to meet and join up with three guitar-playing brothers from the Baliardo family — began creating more pop-oriented songs. They played at roma parties and at street corners until they got their chance to record under the group's new name, Gipsy Kings.
Sharp-eyed individuals might have noted that all the left-handed members of the group play guitars strung upside-down; this is usually as a result of the individuals' not having their own guitars when growing-up. Borrowing and playing a right-hander's the wrong way up was the only way to learn.
Band's story
They became popular with their self-titled first album, Gipsy Kings, which included the songs "Djobi Djoba ", "Bamboleo " and the romantic ballad "Un Amor". The song "Volare" on their second album Mosaique is a rumba version of Domenico Modugno's Italian hit "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu". The Gipsy Kings were enormously popular in France and throughout Europe along with the middle east. In 1989, Gipsy Kings was released in the United States and it spent 40 weeks on the charts, one of very few Spanish language albums to do so. Their cover version of "Hotel California" is an excellent example of fast flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic strumming (this version was featured in the Coen Brothers' movie The Big Lebowski).
In 1991 the Gipsy Kings provided flamenco guitar and backing vocals on Bananarama's version of "Long Train Running", using the pseudonym "Alma de Noche" ("Soul of the Night"). Also in '91, for a multi-artist project called "Simply Mad About the Mouse" — a compilation of new versions of songs from Disney films — the Kings contributed an annaly-crafted, fast-paced rumba flamenca version of "I've Got No Strings" from "Pinocchio" - replete with feverish flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic hand-claps (palmas). The lyrics' enthusiasm for freedom, not being tied down, fit the gipsy creed perfectly.
Their 1993 album "Love and Liberte" won the Latin Grammy Award for "Best Pop Album of the Year," and contained the enduring song "Montana," an emotional account of Roma chased from their birthplace by prejudice and persecution.
The '95 compilation "The Best of the Gipsy Kings" went platinum, staying on the charts more than one year. Albums "Mosaïque," "Allegria," "Este Mundo," "Gipsy Kings Live," "Love & Liberte," "Tierra Gitana," "Cantos de Amor" and "Volare! - the Very Best of the Gipsy Kings" went gold.
Lead guitarist Tonino Baliardo — who has always written the group's instrumentals — released his first solo album, Essences, in 2001; a second self-titled one followed in 2003.
Flamenco purists criticized their use of drum kits, electronic bass, and electronic keyboards and rock and reggae beats. Defenders say they helped create a new style.
Gipsy Kings' total album sales worldwide now exceed 18 million; they toured worldwide again in 2007. They are the world's best-selling music group from France in history, according to their website, where dates and places of their current tour can be found.
Years active: from 1987 till present.
Members
Gipsy Kings are members of two related families: the Reyes and the Baliardos (Reyes means Kings in Spanish). They are cousins of the flamenco great Manitas de Plata, lead guitarist Tonino Baliardo married his granddaughter. Nicolas, Canut, Paul, Andre and Patchai Reyes are sons of flamenco singer Jose Reyes. The Gipsy Kings are:
Nicolas Reyes: lead vocals, guitar
Paul Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
Canut Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
Patchai Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
Andre Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
Diego Baliardo: guitar
Paco Baliardo: guitar
Tonino Baliardo: lead guitar
Chico Bouchikhi was also a member of the Gipsy Kings, but quit after the album Mosaique.
Di Me
Gipsy Kings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And his need to go on feeling that intensity of emotion.
The lyrics of Gipsy Kings' song Di Me delve into the passionate love that a gipsy feels towards their beloved. The opening line of the song, "Di me por que no me quieres" which translates to "tell me why you don't love me" sets the tone for the rest of the song. The gipsy is questioning their beloved about why their love is not reciprocated. The following lines express the immense love that the gipsy feels, "Como te quiero, como te quiero, como te quiero, no tienes idea", which translates to "How much I love you, how much I love you, how much I love you, you have no idea". The repetition of "como te quiero" emphasizes the intensity of the gipsy's love.
The lyrics also convey the gipsy's need to continue feeling that intensity of emotion. The lines "Que este louquerío nunca pase" which means "may this madness never end" highlight the gipsy's fear of losing the passion that they feel towards their beloved. The word "louquerío" which means madness or frenzy, reflects the fervent, emotional state that the gipsy finds themselves in. Overall, the lyrics of Di Me showcase the passionate, emotional nature of gipsy love and the longing to keep that intensity alive.
Line by Line Meaning
Di me por que te vas
Tell me why you're leaving me
Si yo te di mi vida entera
If I gave you my entire life
Si yo te di todo mi amor
If I gave you all my love
Di me por que te vas
Tell me why you're leaving me
Sin ti no puedo vivir mas
I can't live without you
La la la la vida mia
O my life
La la la la vida mia
O my life
Di me por que te vas
Tell me why you're leaving me
Si yo te di todo mi tiempo
If I gave you all my time
Si yo te di todo mi amor
If I gave you all my love
Di me por que te vas
Tell me why you're leaving me
Sin ti no puedo vivir mas
I can't live without you
La la la la vida mia
O my life
La la la la vida mia
O my life
Di me por que te vas
Tell me why you're leaving me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TONINO BALIARDO, PAUL REYES, PATCHAI REYES, NICOLAS REYES, FRANCOIS REYES, JACQUES BALIARDO, ANDRE REYES, GEORGES REYES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Carnifindion
Dime, dime, dimelo
Alla y dime ya
Si me estas queriendo
Dimelo por favor
Dime, dime, dimelo
Alla y dime ya
Si me estas queriendo
Dimelo por favor
Porque yo te estoy queriendo
Y tu lo sabes bien
Porque me estoy muriendo
Y de tu forma de ser
Y de tu amor tambien
Amor, olvidado tu querer, mujer
Amor, olvidado en el pasado, pasado
Amor, olvidado tu querer, mujer
Amor, olvidado en el pasado, pasado
Dime, dime, dimelo
Alla y dime ya
Si me estas queriendo
Dimelo por favor
Dime, dime, dimelo
Alla y dime ya
Si me estas queriendo
Dimelo por favor
Marin Bianchi
Nadie es como los GIPSY KINGS !!!!!! Hasta el dia que me muera quiero escuchar Vuestra Musica MARAVILLOSA !!!!!!
Alcira Cortez
👍apacionada con gipsy 👏ya somos dos 🍀
Claudia m.m.
Que som fantástico!! Estou viciada em Gipsy Kings, parece uma mistura de bossa nova nessa música, que linda ficou....
Paula Coustes
O melhor grupo de música cigana 😍😊
mencho oseguera
Gitana porfavor con G
Alicia Subi
Que dulce musica , sumado a la rica letra de amor. Su voz, la forma de su canto, entonacion, me transporta a donde yo quiera. No me canso de escucharlos, cuando me gusta un tema, mas que otro, lo repito, lo repito hasta el cansancio. Congratulaciones , por lo que han dejado, al mundo para beneplacito de todos nosotros. Que en este momento los estamos saboreando.Nos vemos por ahi. besos
Df Ggh
Mis palabras no son nada con lo que siente mi corazon , preciosa musica
isabel solaz
Este grupo me eriza el pelo ! Son tan buenos. Me encanta
Roselle Duran
Beautiful arrangement ❤👑
Armik Sanz
Simplemente; Hermosa!
Cuanta serenidad en su partitura con aroma de pasion y soledad de compromiso es
💙😘😘😘👍👍👍