Juan Gabriel
- ️Sat Aug 27 2016
Juan Gabriel (born January 7, 1950) is a prolific Mexican singer, songwriter, producer and performer hailing from Parácuaro, Michoacán, Mexico.
Born the youngest of 10 children, Gabriel was raised by his housekeeping mother in the Mexican town of Juarez. By the age of 13 the performer had been championing his own songs and began singing in the nightclubs of Juarez’s downtown strip and changed his name to Adam Luna. The name change didn’t last long however and Gabriel soon moved to Mexico City and in 1971 landing a deal with RCA through which he released his debut hit single “No Tengo Dinero” (I Have No Money) credited to Juan Gabriel.
The subsequent 15 years saw the singer and performer reach new heights rarely seen by Latin artists. Recording 15 albums, selling over 20 million records and appearing in films such as “Nobleza Ranchera”, “Del Otro Lado del Puerte", and “Es Mi Vida” cemented Gabriel as Mexico’s leading commercial singer-songwriter with genre blurring distinctions. However, Gabriel was not content purely making his own music but proceeded to produce a string of hits for artists including Angélica María, Gualberto Castro, José José and Luis Miguel.
Following a dispute with his label BMG regarding the copyrights of his music, the singer refused to release any material for eight years. The silence was broken in 1994 with the album “Gracias Por Esperar” and was soon making up for lost time, and achieved the same success as prior to the hiatus.
Grabriel has gone on to record over 50 studio albums, selling over 100 million copies worldwide, consistently sells out arena size venues and has earned many coveted awards for his hard work, including: six Grammy nominations, La Opinión Tributo Nacional (Lifetime Achievement Award), and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.