Charly García
Carlos Alberto García Moreno (born October 23, 1951), better known by his stage name Charly García,[1] is an Argentine singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and record producer, considered one of the most important and avant-garde figures of Argentine and Latin American music.[2] Named "the father of rock nacional", García is widely acclaimed for his recording work, both in his multiple groups and as a soloist, for the complexity of his music compositions, covering genres like folk rock, progressive rock, symphonic rock, jazz, new wave, pop rock, funk rock, and synth-pop. His lyrics are known for being transgressive and critical towards modern Argentine society, especially during the era of the military dictatorship, and for his rebellious and extravagant personality, which has drawn significant media attention over the years.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Charly García
Argentine
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
- producer
- pianist
1967–present
1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Migue García
Carlos Jaime García Lange
Carmen Moreno
- Vocals
- piano
- keyboards
- bass guitar
In his teenage years, García founded the folk-rock band Sui Generis with his classmate Nito Mestre in the early 70s. Together, they released three successful studio albums, which became anthems for generations of Argentines and separated in 1975 with a concert at the Luna Park. García then became part of the supergroup PorSuiGieco and founded another supergroup, La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, with whom he released key albums to establish progressive rock in the Latin American music scene. After leaving both projects, García went to Brazil, returning to Argentina shortly after to found the supergroup Serú Girán in the late 70s, becoming one of the most important bands in the history of Argentine music for their musical quality and lyrics, including challenging songs towards the military dictatorship that haunted the country at that time. The group dissolved in 1982 after releasing four studio albums and a final concert at the Obras Sanitarias stadium.
Following the composition of the soundtrack for the film Pubis Angelical, and his album, Yendo de la cama al living (1982), which was critically acclaimed, García embarked on a prolific solo career, composing several generational songs of Latin music and pushing the boundaries of pop music. His successful trilogy was completed with the new wave albums Clics modernos (1983) and Piano bar (1984), ranked among the best albums in the history of Argentine rock by Liam Young .[11] In the subsequent years, García worked on the projects Tango and Tango 4 with Pedro Aznar and released a second successful trilogy with Parte de la religión (1987), Cómo conseguir chicas (1989), and Filosofía barata y zapatos de goma (1990). Simultaneously, he began to be involved in various media scandals due to his exorbitant and extravagant behavior, and he suffered his first health accident due to increasing drug addiction during the 90s. By the end of the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s, García entered his controversial and chaotic Say no More era, in which critics and sales poorly received his albums, but his concerts were an absolute success. After the release of Rock and Roll YO (2003), he took a long hiatus, with sporadic appearances for rehabilitation from his addiction issues. He returned to the public scene with his latest live album El concierto subacuático (2010) and released the albums Kill Gil (2010) and Random (2017).
His song from Sui Generis "Rasguña las piedras" was considered in 2002 as the third-best song of all time in Argentine rock, and the 53rd in Latin American rock.[12] Other songs by him have also been considered among the 100 best of Argentine rock: "Seminare", "Canción para mi muerte", "Demoliendo hoteles", "Los dinosaurios", "Yo no quiero volverme tan loco", "No llores por mí, Argentina", "Chipi chipi", and "Cerca de la revolución".[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]
In 2009, he received the Grammy Award for Musical Excellence.[20] In 1985, he won the Konex Platino Award, as the best rock instrumentalist in Argentina in the decade from 1975-1984.[21] He won the Gardel de Oro Award three times (2002, 2003, and 2018), the most important in his country in music.[22] In 2010, he was declared an Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires by the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires,[23] and in 2013, he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the National University of General San Martín.[24]
Biography[edit]
Early years[edit]
Carlos Alberto García was born in the city of Buenos Aires on October 23, 1951, into an upper-middle-class family. He was the firstborn of Carmen Moreno and Carlos Jaime García Lange, an entrepreneur who owned the first Formica factory in Argentina.[25][26] The family included three brothers: Enrique, Daniel, and Josi. His mother was dedicated to the care and education of her children, with the help of professional nannies. Each child had their own room.[27] The family home was a large apartment located on the fifth floor of José María Moreno Street 63, in the heart of the Caballito neighborhood, and ten blocks from Parque Centenario, where Charly often went to draw dinosaurs at the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences.[28] Dinosaurs, planets, and Greek myths were the three topics that fascinated Charly as a child. The family also had a weekend country house with a swimming pool in Paso del Rey.[28]
In 1958, he began his primary education at the public school No. 3, "Primera Junta," located two blocks from his home, opposite Parque Rivadavia. In 1959, the family's economic situation went into crisis when the factory closed, leading to the subsequent loss of most of the family's properties, including the house on José María Moreno Street and the country house in Paso del Rey.[29] The García family then had to move to a rented apartment located in Darregueyra and Paraguay, in the then neighborhood of Palermo Viejo.[30]
His father began working as a physics and mathematics teacher, and his mother started working as a producer of radio and later television programs dedicated to tango and Argentine folklore, which was experiencing what came to be known as "the folklore boom."[31] Due to her work, it became common for the mother to invite prominent folklore musicians to their home, where "Carlitos" would play the piano.[32][33][30] The family's economic situation improved, and they moved to an apartment located in Vidt 1955 9th “B”, between Charcas and Güemes, in Palermo, where the musician lived until 1972 when he moved in with María Rosa Yorio to a nearby boarding house. The photos included in the album Vida were taken nearby.[34] As both parents had to go out to work, Carlitos was sent to finish primary school at the Argentine Aeronautical School, located on Quilmes Street in the Pompeya neighborhood, due to its double schooling system.[35][36]
Music began very early in García's life: at two years old, he learned to play a zither by ear and later continued with a small toy piano that his maternal grandmother gave him.[37] When García's parents went on a trip to Europe, the children were left under the care of nannies and a grandmother. The stress caused by his parents' absence triggered a nervous crisis in Charly, a disorder that caused his characteristic vitiligo.[38][39] When his parents returned from the trip, his mother noticed that Charly had learned to play "Torna a Surriento," a famous Neapolitan melody that was in a family music box, by ear.[27] Charly has mentioned that he believes the solo of "Seminare" was derived from that melody.[36]