Juan Gabriel

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Lore & Background

Alberto Aguilera Valadez was the youngest of ten children. His father was interned in a psychiatric hospital during his childhood, and his mother moved the family to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. He spent eight years at the El Tribunal boarding school, where he met teacher Juan Contreras and ran away to live with him for a year at age 13, composing his first song that same year. After returning to his mother, he became involved with a local Methodist Church but identified as Roman Catholic. At age 15, he debuted on the television show Noches Rancheras under the pseudonym Adán Luna. From 1966 to 1968 he worked as a singer at the Noa-Noa bar, where he wrote 'El Noa Noa'. After unsuccessful attempts to find a recording contract in Mexico City, he worked as a backing vocalist at RCA Víctor before returning to Juárez bars. In 1971, after a third attempt in Mexico City, he was incorrectly accused of robbery and incarcerated for about 18 months in Palacio de Lecumberri Prison, where he wrote songs that attracted the warden's attention. With help from the warden and his wife, he was released and lived with them for two years, launching his professional career as Juan Gabriel.

Reader's Guide

Juan Gabriel's career took off with his first studio album El Alma Joven... in 1971, which included his debut hit 'No Tengo Dinero' and was certified gold by AMPROFON. Over the next fifteen years, he recorded 15 albums and sold 20 million records, writing over 1,000 songs in diverse genres like rancheras, ballads, pop, rock en español, and disco. His song 'Querida' remained number one on the Mexican charts for a year in 1984. His nineteenth studio album, Recuerdos, Vol. II, is reportedly the best-selling album of all time in Mexico, with over eight million copies sold. In 1990, he became the first non-classical act to perform at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. He had 31 songs that charted on the Hot Latin Songs chart, seven of which reached number one. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked him number 172 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. The following year, the Library of Congress selected his recording of 'Amor eterno' for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry.

Did You Know?

• Juan Gabriel wrote around 1,800 songs during his career.
• His song 'Querida' remained at number one on the Mexican charts for a year in 1984.
• He was incarcerated for about 18 months in Palacio de Lecumberri Prison after being incorrectly accused of robbery.
• In 1990, he became the first non-classical act to perform at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.