José Alfredo Jiménez Sandoval (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse alˈfɾeðo xiˈmenes]; 19 January 1926 – 23 November 1973) was a Mexican singer-songwriter of rancheras, whose songs are considered the basis of modern Mexican music.[1]

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José Alfredo Jiménez
Altar dedicated to Jiménez
Background information
Birth name	José Alfredo Jiménez Sandoval
Also known as	"El Rey", "The King of Ranchera"
Born	(1926-01-19)19 January 1926 Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico
Died	23 November 1973(1973-11-23) (aged 47) Mexico City, Mexico
Genres	Regional Mexican, Canción ranchera, Corrido, Mariachi.
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter

Biography

Jiménez was born in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico.[1] He was discovered in 1948 by the singer Miguel Aceves Mejía and according to him he did not play an instrument and did not even know the Spanish word for "waltz" or what keys his songs were in.[2]

One day in 1948, Miguel Aceves Mejía and some friends arrived for dinner to a restaurant called La Sirena, in Santa Maria de la Rivera. The clerk came to him and asked: “Don Miguel. I'm a waiter because of necessity, but I compose songs. Would you like to hear some? Maybe you like them”. The waiter was José Alfredo Jiménez.

Miguel asked him to look for him at the Radio Station XEW, where he had an audition called Amanecer Ranchero together with the Mariachi Vargas and Rubén Fuentes. A few days later, José Alfredo arrived to the radio and started singing a capella his songs “Ella” and some more. Don Miguel was impressed and promised to support him and record his songs. He recorded "Ella, "Yo", "Serenata huasteca" and "Tu Recuerdo y yo". The first ever songs of José Alfredo Jiménez to be recorded.

After this promising beginning, he composed more than 1,000 songs. Among the most famous are "Yo", "Me equivoqué contigo", "Ella", "Paloma querida","Que se me acabe la Vida ", "Tú y la mentira", "Media vuelta", "El Rey", "Sin sangre en las venas", "El jinete", "Si nos dejan", "Amanecí en tus brazos", "Llegando a ti", "Tu recuerdo y yo", El hijo del pueblo", "Cuando el destino", "El caballo blanco", "Llegó borracho el Borracho" and "Que te vaya bonito", as well as "Camino de Guanajuato", where he sang about his home state of Guanajuato.

In addition to his own recordings, many of his songs have been recorded by renowned artists from around the Spanish-speaking world, most notably by the following artists: Selena, which she sang "Cuando Nadie Te Quiera", Miguel Aceves Mejía,[1] Enrique Bunbury, Antonio Aguilar, Tania Libertad, Luis Aguilar, Lola Beltrán,[1] Vikki Carr, Gualberto Castro, Rocío Dúrcal, Alejandro Fernández, Pedro Fernández, Vicente Fernández, Los Relámpagos del Norte con Cornelio Reyna y Ramón Ayala, Los Tigres del Norte, Manolo García, Little Joe Hernández & The Latinaires, Julio Iglesias, Pedro Infante,[1] the Mexican rock group Maná, Luis Miguel, Jorge Negrete,[1] Sunny Ozuna & The Sunliners, María Dolores Pradera, Javier Solís, and Chavela Vargas. In addition, Joaquín Sabina paid homage to Jiménez with his song, "Por el Bulevar de los Sueños Rotos" ("On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams"). The country artist Luke Tan recorded a disc of his favorite Jiménez songs in Spanish, including some English translations.

Like many of his contemporary stars, such as Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante, and Javier Solís, Jiménez died young. He was only forty-seven years old when he died in Mexico City, of complications resulting from cirrhosis of the liver.[1]

One of his last appearances on Mexican television occurred in 1973, just months prior to his death, where he introduced his last song, "Gracias", accompanied by his wife, singer Alicia Juarez. It was his way of thanking the public for all of the affection they had shown him throughout his career as one of the most prolific and highly regarded composers and singers Mexico has ever produced.

Tribute

In 2018, Jiménez was posthumously awarded the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year for ¡México Por Siempre! by Luis Miguel. Jiménez received the accolade due to the fact six of the fourteen tracks in the album were composed by him, thus making Jiménez eligible for the award.[3]

Jiménez is buried in his hometown of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato. His tomb, the "Mausoleum of José Alfredo Jiménez", is in the shape of a traditional shawl and sombrero, much like the ones Jiménez would wear during his performances.

Studio albums

• La Sota De Copas (1970)
• El Cantinero (1971)
• El Rey (1971)
• Gracias (1972)
• 15 Exitos Inolvidables De (1983) — RCA Records
• 12 Exitos De Oro (1988) — RCA Records
• Lo Esencial (2008) — RCA/Lecacy Recordings

Partial filmography

References

Cited

Other

• <Jiménez, José Alfredo. 1 de Abril del 2002. Publication Somos, Group Televisa S.A de C.V. "Promotor con buen Estrella". Pages 62–63>.

External links

• El Musico Project: Songs of José Alfredo Jiménez
• Testimony from Miguel Aceves Mejía
• José Alfredo Jiménez at IMDb

На других языках

[de] José Alfredo Jiménez

[es] José Alfredo Jiménez