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.
Sol Y Luna
Gipsy Kings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Y la luz iluminava este mundo
Y la tierra madre de los hombres
Las estrellas ellas lo sabian
Quiero cantar, estas palabras
Para que entiendan, los corazones
Para tener un mundo nuevo
Para mirar el cielo yla luna.
El canto del amor, del amor y de la vida
El canto del amor, amor.
Cuando el sol mirava la luna
Y la luz iluminana este mundo
Y la tierra madre de los hombres
Las estrellas, ellas lo sabian.
Quiero contar, estas palabras
Para que entiendan, los corazones
Para tener un mundo nuevo
Para mirar, el cielo y la luna
El canto del amor, del amor y de la vida
El canto del amor, amor.
The lyrics of Gipsy Kings' "Sol Y Luna" describe the beauty and wonder of the natural world as seen through the eyes of the sun and the moon. The sun and moon are personified in the song as entities that observe and illuminate the earth, while the stars bear witness to the majesty of the planet and its inhabitants. The singer expresses his desire to sing these words to touch the hearts of people and to inspire them to imagine a better world, one where they can bask in the beauty of the sky and the moon.
The song speaks to the universal themes of love and hope, and how these two forces can bring people together during even the darkest of times. The repeated refrain of "El canto del amor, del amor y de la vida" emphasizes the power of these forces, reminding us that love and life are intertwined and that they have the power to transcend even the most difficult of circumstances. In essence, the lyrics of "Sol Y Luna" remind us to look to the natural world for inspiration and hope, and to remember that we are all connected through the beauty and majesty of the universe.
Line by Line Meaning
Cuando el sol, mirava la luna
When the sun gazed at the moon
Y la luz iluminava este mundo
And the light illuminated this world
Y la tierra madre de los hombres
And the mother earth of all men
Las estrellas ellas lo sabian
The stars, they knew it
Quiero cantar, estas palabras
I want to sing these words
Para que entiendan, los corazones
So that hearts may understand
Para tener un mundo nuevo
To have a new world
Para mirar el cielo y la luna.
To look at the sky and the moon
El canto del amor, del amor y de la vida
The song of love, of love and life
El canto del amor, amor.
The song of love, love.
Cuando el sol mirava la luna
When the sun gazed at the moon
Y la luz iluminana este mundo
And the light illuminated this world
Y la tierra madre de los hombres
And the mother earth of all men
Las estrellas, ellas lo sabian.
The stars, they knew it.
Quiero contar, estas palabras
I want to tell these words
Para que entiendan, los corazones
So that hearts may understand
Para tener un mundo nuevo
To have a new world
Para mirar, el cielo y la luna
To look at the sky and the moon
El canto del amor, del amor y de la vida
The song of love, of love and life
El canto del amor, amor.
The song of love, love.
Lyrics © PEERMUSIC FRANCE, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: JACQUES PACO BALIARDO, MAURICE DIEGO BALIARDO, TONINO ANTOINE BALIARDO, ANDRE REYES, FRANCOIS CANUT REYES, NICOLAS REYES, PATCHAI REYES, PAUL REYES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Senorita Steffy
La dulce e inolvidable voz del maestro, Canut!
Roberta casartelli
MARAVILHOSAMENTE INESQUECIVEL................
virginia claudio
Maravollosa y extupenda musica..
johan norman
eso es....el maestro Canut
maximo atu
canut,desde argentina saludos cantor del alma.
Lici
Bravissimi !!
rosheberha
AMOR MIO SOL Y LUNA SOMOS TU Y YO....TE AMARE TODA MI VIDA...
beto santos
q voz tam prodijiosa tiene este super ombre ''¡ mui bueno canut'¡¡' bravo primo¡''¡'¡
maximo atu
beto santos sos primo de canut te felicito
ronak ronak
Canut ❤️