Miguel Ríos -

Miguel Ríos is a Spanish singer/songwriter. He began recording as Mike Ríos in 1962 and reached an international audience with the 1969 Beethoven adaptation “Himno a la alegría,” followed by the English-language “A Song of Joy.”

His 1970s albums included the ecological concept record La huerta atómica and Al-Andalus, alongside songs such as “El río” and “Vuelvo a Granada.” Ríos entered another major phase with the 1982 live album Rock & Ríos and “Bienvenidos,” then extended his career through later tours, recordings, and television projects.

Background

Miguel Ríos Campaña was born on June 7, 1944, in the Cartuja district of Granada, Spain. His father, Miguel Ríos Granados, worked at a sawmill; his mother, Antonia Campaña Ortiz, came from Loja.

Ríos entered the Salesian Schools of San Juan Bosco in 1952 and sang in the school choir. He left school in 1958 and joined Almacenes Olmedo the next year. The store transferred him to the record department, where he encountered recordings by Elvis Presley. His former teacher, Maestro Novi, invited him to sing on Radio Granada.

Ríos sang Paul Anka’s “Pity” at Granada’s Club de Tenis with a group organized by a member of the Olmedo family. He later sang with Los Nevada, the resident band at Hotel Nevada. Radio Granada recorded Ríos with the group and he won the station’s Cenicienta 1960 contest. Philips sales representative Carlos Vallejo carried the recording to Madrid, where Ríos moved after an invitation from the label’s artistic director, Ricardo Fernández de la Torre.

Ríos recorded his first four-song Philips EP in early 1962 with Filippo Carletti’s group. Philips issued El Rey del Twist under the name Mike Ríos. He befriended Pablo Herrero, organist of Los Relámpagos, who accompanied Ríos on records and at Madrid’s Sunday morning concerts at Circo Price. Ríos also recorded with Los Sonor. He resumed his own name on the 1964 EP Serenata bajo el sol and appeared in the 1964 comedy film Dos chicas locas, locas, directed by Pedro Lazaga and starring Pili and Mili.

In 1966, Ríos left Philips for Sonoplay, where Adolfo Waitzman served as artistic director. Sonoplay issued the 1966 Ríos singles “La guitarra” (b/w “Antimusical”) and “Ahora que he vuelto” that year (b/w “Hermanos”). Ríos then played Franz in Hamelín, a feature musical directed by Luis María Delgado and based on the Pied Piper of Hamelin legend. Franz uses a magical guitar to clear the town of rats. Sonoplay issued four songs Ríos recorded for the film on the 1967 EP Canciones de la película Hamelín. Los Brincos drummer and songwriter Fernando Arbex later recorded a demo of his song “El río” with Ríos in a small studio at Arbex’s apartment.

Producer Rafael Trabuchelli heard the tape and signed Ríos to Hispavox, where arranger Waldo de los Ríos joined the sessions. Hispavox issued Arbex’s “El río” in 1968 (b/w Ríos’s “Vuelvo a Granada”). Ríos and Trabuchelli selected further songs for the sessions behind his first LP, Mira hacia ti.

Discography:

Mira hacia ti (1969)
A Song of Joy (1970)
Despierta (1970)
Unidos (1971)
Memorias de un ser humano (1974)
La huerta atómica (un relato de anticipación) (1976)
Al-Andalus (1977)
Los viejos rockeros nunca mueren (1979)
Rocanrol bumerang (1980)
Extraños en el escaparate (1981)
El rock de una noche de verano (1983)
La encrucijada (1984)
El año del cometa (1986)
Miguel Ríos (1989)
Directo al corazón (1990)

Sources

Fundación Miguel Ríos, career chronology. Birth, family, school, Radio Granada, Carlos Vallejo, and label sequence. (Fundación Miguel Ríos)
Diego A. Manrique and Juan Puchades, interview with Ríos, part one. Granada performances, Philips sessions, Los Relámpagos, and Circo Price. (Efe Eme)
Manrique and Puchades, interview with Ríos, part two. Sonoplay, the change of name, Arbex’s demo, and the Hispavox contract. (Efe Eme)
RTVE, interview with Ríos. Salesian choir and early radio recording. (RTVE)
La Fonoteca, Miguel Ríos discography. EP and single dates, backing groups, and the debut LP. (La Fonoteca)