Gabi Luncă

Gabi Luncă (born 1938) is a Romani singer of urban lăutarească music from Romania, born in Vărbilău, Prahova County in Romania. Her father was also a lăutar, a violinist very respected among lăutari because he was a "notist" (he knew how to read music). Her mother died when she was very young and this left a major impression on her life; many of her songs deal with the "mother" theme. She was a favorite of Romania's communist ruler Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife Elena. In the later part of her life, Gabi Luncă converted to Pentecostalism and started singing exclusively religious music. She was married to the great accordionist Ion Stan-Onoriu.