Julio Iglesias: 1943—: Singer

Since the late 1960s, singer Julio Iglesias has established himself as an international star and sex symbol. By 1983 he had sold over 100 million records, setting a Guinness World Record, and by 2002 that figure had risen to more than 200 million. "There's an oddly appealing mix of pride and modesty about Julio Iglesias," wrote Andrew Paxman in Variety. "One moment he'll tell you that his career is entirely built on luck. … The next moment he'll tell you he's the greatest Latin singer in history—and then flash you a self-mocking smile." During his long career, Iglesias has released more than 75 albums and performed at nearly five thousand concerts. Iglesias told Leila Cobo of the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, "After two or three generations, you can't fool an audience. I'm still alive. At this point, to artistically kill me, you would have to physically kill me."

Car Accident Changed Career

Iglesias was born on September 23, 1943, in Madrid, Spain, the son of Julio Iglesias Puga, a prominent doctor, and Maria del Rosario de la Cueva Iglesias. His family was wealthy, and Iglesias imagined following in his father's footsteps. "Like everybody else, I wanted to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer," he told Steve Dougherty in People Weekly. He studied law at the University of Madrid for a short time, then became a goalie for Spain's premier soccer team, Real Madrid. In 1963, however, an automobile accident ended his career in sports. "One day I was a guy full of strength," he told Dougherty. "And the next I was completely paralyzed."

Iglesias remained in convalescence for three years, at which time a nurse gave him a guitar to take his mind off his physical difficulties. Iglesias knew he could no longer play soccer, but he missed being in the spotlight. He decided to try singing, though he had never been interested in it before. "I was 19 years old when I first got the guitar," he told Ramiro Burr in the Houston Chronicle. Soon he had learned to play and was writing songs. His parents, he later recalled, were less than enthusiastic about a musical career for their son. "They realized I was serious about this," he told Burr, "and I guess it helped when one day they came home and our neighbor said, 'Is this your son, the one who sings?'"

At a Glance . . .

Born Julio Jose Iglesias de la Cueva on September 23, 1943, in Madrid, Spain; son of Julio Iglesias (a gynecologist) and Maria del Rosario (maiden name, de la Cueva Perignat) Iglesias Puga; married Isabel Preisler, January 20, 1971 (annulled 1979); children: Julio José, Enrique, Chaveli. Education: Graduated from law school in Spain.

Career: Singer, songwriter, concert performer and recording artist, 1968–.

Awards: First prize, Spain's Benidorm Song Festival, 1968; first prize, Eurovision song contest, 1972; Recipient Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris, 1983; Diamond Disc award Guiness Book of World Records, 1983; Grammy award for best Latin pop performance, 1987.

Address: Office— c/o Rogers & Cowan, 1888 Century Park E Ste 500, Los Angeles, CA, 90067-1709.

He attended Cambridge University for three months, studying language by day and singing Mediterranean love songs at night. He returned to Spain in 1968, where he entered and won first prize in the Benidorm Song Festival with "Life Goes on as Usual." In 1970 he represented Spain at the Eurovision Festival, and in 1972 he returned to the festival and won first prize. To please his parents, he also completed his law degree during this time. In 1971 Iglesias moved to Hong Kong, where he remained for two years. He married Isabel Preisler, and the couple had three children, but they parted in 1979.

Popularized More Romantic Musical Style

In 1977 Iglesias recorded his first project with Ramon Arcusa, a producer and arranger who would remain the singer's right-hand man over the next 25 years. Paxman wrote that "the Iglesias-Arcusa partnership reached a zenith with 1980's Hey!, regarded by many aficionados as Julio's finest hour." The partnership would also see the growth of Iglesias's music into new markets. Arcusa told Paxman, "My mother-in-law, who is English, once said: 'I don't understand one word of what he's singing, but I believe it.'"

After Iglesias established himself in Spain, he became popular in Latin America, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and Japan. "What Iglesias has done, more than any other performer," noted Gerald Clarke in Time, "is bring back to popular music the romantic style of the '40s and '50s." He signed to Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) International around 1980 and attempted to break into English-speaking markets. Unknown to him, however, a group of British tourists had already promoted his career by bringing a number of his albums back from Spain. The records circulated in the music industry, and British deejays began to air Iglesias's version of Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine." The song reached number one, a first for a Hispanic singer in England, and CBS decided to release English versions of his albums.

During the 1980s Iglesias recorded 1100 Bel Air Place, his first English-language album. His single recorded with Willie Nelson, "To All the Girls I Loved Before," reached number one on the singles chart and propelled the album to triple platinum status. Iglesias told John Lannert in Billboard, "The most memorable era for me was between 1978 and 1984, when I discovered a new world—the music in the U.S. I sang with American artists, which was a whole different world." He made appearances on talk shows, attended events, and received an invitation to the White House from Ronald and Nancy Reagan.

Named Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF

In 1987 Iglesias won a Grammy for Un Hombre Solo, and in 1989 he was named goodwill ambassador to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). On 1992's Colar, Iglesias sang different versions of the songs in German, Italian, French, and Portuguese for separate releases. "It's so complicated to go into the studio to do an album and then do it in different languages," he told John Lannert in Billboard. His 1994 album, Crazy, included duets with Dolly Parton and Sting, and sold three million copies worldwide. Burr noted of 2000's Noche de Cuatro Lunas, "The CD has the usual Iglesias earmarks—superb musicianship, gorgeous melodies and soothing emotive vocals."

Iglesias remains an international star, with each new album selling at least two million copies. "I think I am what I am because I don't want to lose my audience," Iglesias told Cobo. "I'm in love with them." He lives a lavish lifestyle that includes $700-a-day hotel rooms, $900 Magnum bottles of champagne, and a five-million-dollar residence in Miami. Despite his success, he maintains an active touring schedule and laughs when interviewers ask him if he is a sex symbol. "Not when I look in the mirror in the morning," he told Clarke. "But my goal is to make people dream. When they see me onstage, their fantasy of me and the reality meet. I seduce them. But first I must seduce me."

Selected discography

A Flor de Piel, Sony, 1974.

Hey!, Columbia, 1980.

1100 Bel Air Place, Columbia, 1984.

Un Hombre Solo, Sony, 1989.

A Mis 33 Anos, Sony, 1989.

Calor, Sony Discos, 1992.

Crazy, Columbia, 1994.

Tango, Columbia, 1996.

Noche de Cuatro Lunas, Sony, 2000.

Sources

Periodicals

Billboard, June 27, 1992, p. 17; May 27, 2000, p. 73.

Houston Chronicle, September 24, 2000, p. 13.

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, June 23, 2000.

People Weekly, August 29, 1988, p. 50.

Time, September 10, 1984, p. 60.

Variety, June 8, 1998, p. M33.

On-line

"Julio Iglesias," All Music Guide, www.allmusic.com (January 3, 2003).

"Julio Iglesias," Biography Resource Center, www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC (January 3, 2003).

—Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.