PART  483



             THE GIPSY KINGS   -  Bamboléo  (1987)
             THE GIPSY KINGS   -  Djobi Djoba  (1987)
             THE GIPSY KINGS   -  Vamos a Bailar ( 1987) 
             THE GIPSY KINGS   -  Volare   (1989)
             THE GIPSY KINGS   -  Sin Ella (1991)
                               
          

    The Gipsy Kings are a group of musicians from Arles and Montpellier (France)  who perform in Spanish with an Andalusian accent. Gipsy Kings are members of two related families: the Reyes and the Baliardos. Nicolas, Canut, Paul, Andre and Patchai Reyes are sons of the flamenco singer Jose Reyes. Although group members were born in France, their parents were mostly gitanos.  
    Their music has a particular rumba flamenca style, with pop influences; many songs of the Gipsy Kings fit social dances, such as salsa and rumba. Their music has been described as a place where "Spanish flamenco and Romani rhapsody meet salsa funk".
    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 fourth album "Mosaïque" is a rumba version of Domenico Modugno's Italian hit "Nel blu dipinto di blu".The Gipsy Kings were popular in Africa and throughout Europe, as well as in the Middle East and US..    

   "Djobi Djoba" is a hit song by the Gipsy Kings from their 1988 self-titled album. Along with other hits from the same album such as "Bamboléo" and "Un Amor", Djobi Djoba helped rocket the Gipsy Kings to European popularity, before gaining popularity in America in 1989. In 1989, Album "Gipsy Kings" was released in the US and it spent 40 weeks on the charts, one of very few Spanish Language albums to do so.
   "Bamboléo" iconic song has been a worldwide hit for the Gipsy Kings and has been covered by tens of artists. It has also been translated into a great number of languages. There are also only-music arrangements, samplings and adaptations.The word "bamboleo", means swaying in Spanish. The catch phrase of the song says: "Bamboléo, Bamboléa, Porque mi vida yo la prefiero vivir asi".