A Very Special Christmas
Encyclopedia
A Very Special Christmas is the title of an ongoing series of Christmas music
compilation album
s that benefit Special Olympics
. It features songs performed by artists from a variety of genres, such as U2
, Stevie Nicks
, Jon Bon Jovi
, Madonna
, The Smashing Pumpkins
, No Doubt
, Whitney Houston
, Run–D.M.C., Jason Mraz
, Willie Nelson
, Bruce Springsteen
and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
.
A Very Special Christmas was the brainchild of music producer Jimmy Iovine
, who wanted to produce a Christmas album as a memorial to his father. The idea of the record benefiting Special Olympics was suggested by Iovine's wife Vicki
, as she was a volunteer for the organization. Herb Alpert
and Jerry Moss
, the founders of A&M Records
, along with Bobby Shriver, helped the Iovines realize the project. Since the release of the first album in 1987, the series has raised over $100 million for Special Olympics, more than any other benefit series. The album cover art is designed by artist Keith Haring
.
. The following year, World Christmas, which focused on diverse artists from around the globe, was released by Blue Note subsidiary Metro Blue Records. Although they are not part of the main A Very Special Christmas series, the proceeds from these albums also benefit Special Olympics.
Jazz to the World
World Christmas
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s that benefit Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
. It features songs performed by artists from a variety of genres, such as U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
, Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
, No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, Run–D.M.C., Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz
Jason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...
, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...
.
A Very Special Christmas was the brainchild of music producer Jimmy Iovine
Jimmy Iovine
James "Jimmy" Iovine is an American music producer, entrepreneur and chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M.-Biography:...
, who wanted to produce a Christmas album as a memorial to his father. The idea of the record benefiting Special Olympics was suggested by Iovine's wife Vicki
Vicki Iovine
Vicki McCarty Iovine is an American model, writer, and lawyer.-Biography:Iovine received her undergraduate degree in Journalism from University of California, Berkeley. She earned a law degree from Hastings College of the Law and an LL.B...
, as she was a volunteer for the organization. Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
and Jerry Moss
Jerry Moss
Jerome S. "Jerry" Moss is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert....
, the founders of A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, along with Bobby Shriver, helped the Iovines realize the project. Since the release of the first album in 1987, the series has raised over $100 million for Special Olympics, more than any other benefit series. The album cover art is designed by artist Keith Haring
Keith Haring
Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.-Early life:...
.
A Very Special Christmas series
- A Very Special ChristmasA Very Special Christmas (album)A Very Special Christmas is the first in a series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit Special Olympics. The album was released in 1987, and production was overseen by Jimmy Iovine for A&M Records...
– 1987 - A Very Special Christmas 2A Very Special Christmas 2A Very Special Christmas 2 is the second in a series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit Special Olympics. The album was released on 20 October 1992, and production was overseen by Jimmy Iovine, Vicki Iovine and Robert Sargent Shriver for A&M Records.-Track listing:#...
– 1992 - A Very Special Christmas 3A Very Special Christmas 3A Very Special Christmas 3 is the third in a series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit Special Olympics. The album was released on 23 September 1997, and production was overseen by Bobby Shriver, Al Cafaro, and Linda Feder for A&M Records.-Track listing:# "I Saw Three...
– 1997 - A Very Special Christmas LiveA Very Special Christmas LiveA Very Special Christmas Live is the fourth in a series of Christmas music-themed compilation albums produced to benefit Special Olympics. The album was recorded live in Washington, D.C. in December 1998 at a benefit party held by then-President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to...
– 1999 - A Very Special Christmas 5A Very Special Christmas 5A Very Special Christmas 5 is the fifth in a series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit Special Olympics. Several of the album's tracks were recorded live in Washington, D.C. in December 2000 at a benefit concert hosted by then-President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary...
– 2001 - A Very Special Acoustic ChristmasA Very Special Acoustic ChristmasA Very Special Acoustic Christmas is the sixth in a series of Christmas music-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released in 2003 by Lost Highway Records...
– 2003 - A Very Special Christmas 7 – 2009
Jazz to the World and World Christmas
In 1995, the jazz-oriented Jazz to the World was released by Blue Note RecordsBlue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
. The following year, World Christmas, which focused on diverse artists from around the globe, was released by Blue Note subsidiary Metro Blue Records. Although they are not part of the main A Very Special Christmas series, the proceeds from these albums also benefit Special Olympics.
Jazz to the World
- "Winter WonderlandWinter Wonderland"Winter Wonderland" is a winter song, popularly treated as a Christmastime pop standard, written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith . Through the decades it has been recorded by over 150 different artists.-History:...
" – Herb AlpertHerb AlpertHerbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
/Jeff LorberJeff LorberJeff Lorber is an American Grammy Award-nominated keyboardist, composer, and record producer.After leading his own group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, he went on to pioneer the smooth jazz genre.... - "Baby, It's Cold OutsideBaby, It's Cold OutsideBaby, It's Cold Outside may refer to:*"Baby, It's Cold Outside", a 1948 song by Frank Loesser*"Cold Outside", a song by country music band Big House from their self-titled debut album*"Baby, It's Cold Outside", a 1991 short story by Isaac Asimov...
" – Lou RawlsLou RawlsLouis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
/Dianne ReevesDianne ReevesDianne Reeves is an American jazz singer. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.-Early life:Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan to a very musical family. Her father, who died when she was two years old, was also a singer. Her mother, Vada Swanson, played trumpet. A cousin, George Duke, is a... - "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" – FourplayFourplayFourplay is a contemporary jazz quartet in the United States. The original members of the group were Bob James , Lee Ritenour , Nathan East , and Harvey Mason . In 1997, Lee Ritenour left the group and Fourplay chose Larry Carlton as his replacement...
- "Have Yourself a Merry Little ChristmasHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics, which has become more common than the original. The song was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane...
" – Diana KrallDiana KrallDiana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s... - "O TannenbaumO Tannenbaum"O Tannenbaum", or, in its English version, "O Christmas Tree", is a Christmas carol of German origin.A Tannenbaum is a fir tree or Christmas tree...
" – Stanley ClarkeStanley ClarkeStanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
/George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
/Everette HarpEverette HarpEverette Harp , is an African American blues, jazz and gospel saxophonist who has recorded on Blue Note and Capitol Records. Harp's 2006 album, In the Moment, debuted in the number one position of Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart.-Biography:Everette Harp started playing piano at two, and began... - "Let It Snow" – Michael Franks/Carla BleyCarla BleyCarla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...
/Steve SwallowSteve SwallowSteve Swallow is a jazz double bass and bass guitarist and composer born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.One of the leading bassists in jazz, Swallow is noted for collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton and Carla Bley... - "The Christmas Waltz" – The Brecker BrothersBrecker BrothersThe Brecker Brothers was the musical duo of Michael and Randy Brecker , who recorded commercially successful jazz fusion albums together in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. They had a notable hit single with "East River" in 1979...
/Steve Kahn - "The Little Drummer Boy" – Cassandra WilsonCassandra WilsonCassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
- "I'll Be Home for Christmas" – Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
/Eliane EliasEliane EliasEliane Elias is a Brazilian jazz pianist, arranger, vocalist and songwriter.-Biography:... - "O come, O come, EmmanuelO come, O come, EmmanuelO come, O come, Emmanuel is a translation of the Latin text by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century. It is a metrical version of a collation of various Advent Antiphons , which now serves as a popular Advent hymn...
" – John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (musician)John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer... - "Christmas Blues" – Holly ColeHolly ColeHolly Cole is a Canadian jazz singer, particularly popular in Canada and Japan for both her versatile and distinctive voice, along with her adventurous repertoire, which spans such divergent genres as show tunes, rock, and country music.-Holly Cole Trio:In 1983, Cole travelled to Toronto to seek a...
- "Angels We Have Heard on HighAngels We Have Heard on High"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....
" – Steps AheadSteps AheadSteps Ahead is a jazz fusion group and the brainchild of vibraphonist Mike Mainieri. According to the liner notes of the group's 1983 debut album , entitled Steps Ahead, "Steps began as a part-time venture in 1979 at Seventh Avenue South, a New York City nightclub." The group began releasing... - "The Christmas SongThe Christmas Song"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer...
" – Anita BakerAnita BakerAnita Baker is an American R&B/soul jazz singer-songwriter. To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, and has four platinum albums and two gold albums to her credit.... - "What Child Is This?" – Chick CoreaChick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
- "Winter WonderlandWinter Wonderland"Winter Wonderland" is a winter song, popularly treated as a Christmastime pop standard, written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith . Through the decades it has been recorded by over 150 different artists.-History:...
" – Dave KozDave KozDave Koz is an American smooth jazz saxophonist.- Life and career :Dave Koz was born on March 27, 1963 in Encino, California.... - "Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant" – Dr. JohnDr. JohnMalcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
World Christmas
- "Angels We Have Heard on HighAngels We Have Heard on High"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....
/Les Anges Dans Nos Compagnes" – Papa WembaPapa WembaPapa Wemba was born Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba in 1949 in Lubefu . He is a Congolese rumba musician, one of Africa's most popular musicians, and prominent in World music.-Zaiko Langa Langa:...
/Mino CineluMino CineluMino Cinelu is a French musician. He plays multiple instruments. He is a composer, programmer and producer; and is most often associated primarily for his work as a jazz percussionist.-Biography:Cinelu was born in Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine... - "We Three KingsWe Three Kings"We Three Kings", also known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The Quest of the Magi", is a Christmas carol written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the lyrics and the music. It is suggested to have been written in 1857 but did not appear in print until his Carols, Hymns...
" – Bob BergBob BergBob Berg was a jazz saxophonist originally from Brooklyn, New York City. He started his musical education at the age of six when he began studying classical piano. He began playing the saxophone at the age of thirteen. Bob Berg was a Juilliard graduate influenced heavily by the late 1964–67 period...
/Jim BeardJim BeardJames Arthur Beard is an American jazz pianist and keyboardist, contemporary instrumental composer, arranger and record producer.- Life and career :...
/Zakir HussainZakir Hussain (musician)Zakir Hussain , , is an Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer.-Early life:Hussain was born in Mumbai, India to the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. He attended St...
/Mark LedfordMark LedfordMark Ledford was an American trumpet player, vocalist and guitarist.Ledford was most famous for his multi-instrumentalism, and from his membership in the Pat Metheny Group.... - "Go Tell It on the MountainGo Tell It on the Mountain (song)"Go Tell It on the Mountain" is an African-American spiritual song, compiled by John Wesley Work, Jr., dating back to at least 1865, that has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers...
" – John ScofieldJohn ScofieldJohn Scofield , often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham,...
/The Wild MagnoliasThe Wild Magnolias-History:A group calling itself the Wild Magnolias, participating in the local "Indian masking" traditions and performing New Orleans Mardi Gras music, extends at least back into the 1950s. The group's lead member was called the Big Chief, and at least three Big Chiefs are known to have headed the... - "O Holy NightO Holy Night"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
" (Zan Vevede) – Angélique KidjoAngélique KidjoAngélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, commonly known as Angélique Kidjo is a Grammy Award–winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist, noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Time Magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva". The BBC has... - "Michaux Veillait/Santa Claus Is Coming to TownSanta Claus Is Coming to Town"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934....
" – The Caribbean Jazz Project - "Natal" – Cesária ÉvoraCesária ÉvoraCesária Évora is a Cape Verdean popular singer. Nicknamed the "barefoot diva" for performing without shoes, Évora is perhaps the best internationally known practitioner of "morna."-Early life:...
- "Ave MariaAve MariaAve Maria may refer to:*Ave Maria , the "Hail Mary", a traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus-Music:...
" – Deep ForestDeep ForestDeep Forest is a musical group consisting of two French musicians, Michel Sanchez and Eric Mouquet. They compose a style of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and dance beats or chillout beats...
/Louka Kanza - "We Wish You a Merry ChristmasWe Wish You a Merry Christmas"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is a popular secular sixteenth-century English carol from the West Country of England. The origin of this Christmas carol lies in the English tradition where wealthy people of the community gave Christmas treats to the carolers on Christmas Eve such as 'figgy...
/Rumba Navidene" – Vocal SamplingVocal SamplingVocal Sampling is an all-male a cappella musical group from Cuba. They are distinctive for their rich a cappella adaptations of traditional Cuban salsa music, son, and Rumba, such as their renditions of "El Cuarto de Tula" and "La Negra Tomasa", vocally imitating the piano, cowbell, conga, bass,... - "Boas Festas" – Gilberto GilGilberto GilGilberto Passos Gil Moreira , better known as Gilberto Gil or , is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter, known for both his musical innovation and political commitment...
/Caetano VelosoCaetano VelosoCaetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
/Eliane EliasEliane EliasEliane Elias is a Brazilian jazz pianist, arranger, vocalist and songwriter.-Biography:... - "Cascabel/Jingle BellsJingle Bells"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
" – Yomo ToroYomo ToroVictor Guillermo Toro is a guitarist and one of Puerto Rico's most famous cuatro players...
and the Boricua All Stars - "The Twelve Days of ChristmasTwelve Days of ChristmasThe Twelve Days of Christmas are the festive days beginning Christmas Day . This period is also known as Christmastide and Twelvetide. The Twelfth Night of Christmas is always on the evening of 5 January, but the Twelfth Day can either precede or follow the Twelfth Night according to which...
" – Mino CineluMino CineluMino Cinelu is a French musician. He plays multiple instruments. He is a composer, programmer and producer; and is most often associated primarily for his work as a jazz percussionist.-Biography:Cinelu was born in Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine...
/Dianne ReevesDianne ReevesDianne Reeves is an American jazz singer. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.-Early life:Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan to a very musical family. Her father, who died when she was two years old, was also a singer. Her mother, Vada Swanson, played trumpet. A cousin, George Duke, is a... - "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" – Joshua RedmanJoshua RedmanJoshua Redman is an American jazz saxophonist and composer who records for Nonesuch Records. He won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991.-Biography:...
/Marcus MillerMarcus MillerMarcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
/Lalah HathawayLalah HathawayEulaulah Donyll Hathaway best known as Lalah Hathaway referred to as the First Daughter of Soul, is a contemporary R&B and jazz singer. She is the daughter of soul singer Donny Hathaway and a classically trained vocalist. In 1990, Lalah Hathaway released a self-titled album. The album's first... - "Navidad" – Gipsy KingsGipsy KingsThe Gipsy Kings are a group of musicians from Arles and Montpellier, who perform in Spanish with an Andalucían accent. Although group members were born in France, their parents were mostly gitanos, Spanish Romani people who fled Catalonia during the 1930s Spanish Civil War. Chico Bouchikhi is of...