José Alfredo Jiménez

José Alfredo Jiménez, was the undisputed king of rancheras, the melodramatic and sentimental singing style that originated in the cities of Mexico during the 1950s and '60s. His songs are considered part of the Mexican musical heritage and comparable, for instance, to what Woody Guthrie meant to American folk music.

Jiménez was born in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato and while he had no musica training nor could he play a single instrument, he composed more than 1,000 songs including classics such as "Ella", "De Un Mondo Raro", "Tu Y Las Nubes", "Paloma querida", and "El Jinete". 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 Vicente Fernández, Miguel Aceves Mejía, Antonio Aguilar, Lola Beltrán, Vikki Carr, Rocío Dúrcal, Ramón Ayala, Los Tigres del Norte, Julio Iglesias, Pedro Infante, Luis Miguel, and Chavela Vargas among many others. Jiménez also appeared in numerous Mexican films of the 1950s, and many other movies took their titles from his compositions.

Jiménez passed at a young age, like others of his contemporaries: Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante and Javir Solís, the so-called "Three Mexican Roosters", or Tres Gallos Mexicanos all died young. He was struck-down by hepatitis and ultimatly died of complications of cirrocis of the liver at age 47. He is regarded, along with Agustín Lara and Juan Gabriel, as one of the best songwriters that Mexico has ever produced. He was certainly one of the most prolific composers in the history of popular music, world-wide. His tomb has become a place of pilgrimage for serious music fans from around the Spanish-speaking world.