Charly García

Carlos Alberto García Moreno (born October 23, 1951), better known by his stage name Charly García, 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. 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.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 own 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 Rolling Stone magazine. 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 suffered his first health accidents 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 his albums were poorly received by critics and sales, 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. 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”.In 2009, he received the Grammy Award for Musical Excellence. In 1985, he won the Konex Platino Award, as the best rock instrumentalist in Argentina in the decade from 1975-1984. He won the Gardel de Oro Award three times (2002, 2003, and 2018), the most important in his country in music. In 2010, he was declared an Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires by the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires, and in 2013, he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the National University of General San Martín.

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