José Alfredo Jiménez

José Alfredo Jiménez (January 19, 1926 in Dolores Hidalgo

Dolores Hidalgo

Dolores Hidalgo Dolores Hidalgo Dolores Hidalgo (in full, Dolores Hidalgo Cuna de la Independencia Nacional is the name of a city and the surrounding municipality in the north-central part of the Mexican state of Guanajuato....

, Guanajuato

Guanajuato

Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....

 – November 23, 1973 in Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

, Mexico) was a Mexican singer-songwriter in the ranchera

Ranchera

Ranchera is a genre of the traditional music of Mexico originally sung by only one performer with a guitar. It dates to the years of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. It later became closely associated with the mariachi groups which evolved in Jalisco. Ranchera today is also played...

 style whose songs are considered an integral part of Mexico's musical heritage.

Jiménez had no musical training according to singer Miguel Aceves Mejía

Miguel Aceves Mejía

Miguel Aceves Mejía was a Mexican actor, composer, and singer.Miguel Aceves Mejía, or "the King of the falsetto" as he was popularly known, was born in Ciudad Juárez in the state of Chihuahua...

. He also did not play an instrument and did not even know the Spanish terms for "waltz

Waltz

The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...

" and "key

Key (music)

In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...

". Nonetheless, he composed more than 1000 songs. Among the most famous are "Ella", "Paloma Querida", "Tu 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 "Caminos De Guanajuato", where he sang about his home state of Guanajuato

Guanajuato

Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is 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: Antonio Aguilar

Antonio Aguilar

José Pascual Antonio Aguilar Barraza most commonly known as Antonio Aguilar, nicknamed "El Charro de México", was a Mexican film actor, singer, producer and screenwriter. During his career, he made over 150 albums, which sold 25 million copies, and made 167 movies...

, Lola Beltrán

Lola Beltrán

Lola Beltrán was a Mexican film actress and one of the most acclaimed Mexican ranchera singers, nicknamed Lola la Grande .-Biography:...

, Vikki Carr

Vikki Carr

Vikki Carr is an American singer and humanitarian from El Paso, Texas. She has performed in a variety of music genres, including jazz, pop and country, but has enjoyed her greatest success singing in Spanish.-Career:After taking the stage name 'Vikki Carr', she signed with Liberty Records in 1962...

, Gualberto Castro

Gualberto Castro

Gualberto Antonio Castro is of Mexican and Lebanese ancestry from his father side of the family and French and Mexican descent from his mother's side, Gualberto is a Mexican singer-entertainer best known for singing with Los Hermanos Castro aka and for hosting the...

, Rocío Dúrcal

Rocío Dúrcal

Rocío Dúrcal , born as María de los Ángeles de Las Heras Ortíz, was a Spanish singer and actress, known artistically as Rocío Durcal. Spanish is the best selling solo albums with more than 80 million to date...

, Alejandro Fernández

Alejandro Fernández

Alejandro Fernández is a Mexican singer. Nicknamed as "El Potrillo" by the media and his fans, he has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Alejandro is the son of the ranchera singer Vicente Fernández. He originally specialized in traditional, earthy forms of Mexican folk music, such as...

, Pedro Fernández

Pedro Fernández

José Martín Cuevas Cobos , known professionally as Pedro Fernández, is a Mexican recording artist and actor.-Discography:*1979: La De La Mochila Azul*1989: Vicio*1990: Por Un Amigo Más*1991: Muñecos De Papel...

, Vicente Fernández

Vicente Fernández

Vicente Fernández Gómez is a Mexican singer, producer and actor. Known as Chente or El rey de la canción ranchera throughout the Latin world, Vicente Fernández, who started his career singing for tips on the street, has become a cultural icon, recording more than 50 albums and contributing to...

, Los Relámpagos Del Norte

Los Relámpagos del Norte

Los Relámpagos del Norte was a norteño band formed in the early 1960s by Cornelio Reyna and Ramón Ayala. The band is best known as a duo. Cornelio Reyna was the lead singer and bajo sexto player, while Ramon Ayala was the background vocalist and the accordion player. After successful careers...

 con Cornelio Reyna

Cornelio Reyna

Cornelio Reyna was a Mexican norteño singer.Cornelio Reyna formed a partnership with the legendary Ramón Ayala to create the famous duet called Los Relampagos del Norte in 1963. The band stayed together for eight years and then in 1971, Reyna decided to pursue a solo career as a mariachi singer...

 y Ramón Ayala

Ramón Ayala

Ramón Ayala is a Mexican-American musician, composer, and songwriter of norteño and conjunto music. Known as the "King of the Accordion," Ayala has recorded over 105 albums for which he has received four Grammy Awards. Additionally, Ayala has been featured in thirteen movies...

, Los Tigres Del Norte

Los Tigres del Norte

Los Tigres del Norte is a norteño-band ensemble based out of San Jose, California, hailing from Rosa Morada, Sinaloa, Mexico.- History :...

, Manolo García

Manolo García

Manuel García García-Pérez is a Spanish singer and painter. His first LPs were recorded with rock bands like Los Rápidos, Los Burros and El Último de la Fila. His singing style is a mix of pop rock, flamenco and Arabic music. Today, García continues to have a successful solo career...

, Little Joe Hernández & The Latinaires

Little Joe (singer)

José María De León Hernández, known professionally as Little Joe is a Mexican-American tejano performer. He is usually joined by his band La Familia. In 1992, their album 16 de Septiembre earned the Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Performance. In 2008, Little Joe once again won a Grammy for...

, Julio Iglesias

Julio Iglesias

Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...

, Pedro Infante

Pedro Infante

José Pedro Infante Cruz , better known as Pedro Infante, is the most famous actor and singer of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and is an idol of the Latinamerican people, together with Jorge Negrete and Javier Solís, who were styled the Tres Gallos Mexicanos . He was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa,...

, the Mexican rock group Maná

Maná

Maná is a pop rock band from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, whose career has spanned more than three decades. They have earned three Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, five Premios Juventud awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards and 13 Premios Lo...

, Miguel Aceves Mejía

Miguel Aceves Mejía

Miguel Aceves Mejía was a Mexican actor, composer, and singer.Miguel Aceves Mejía, or "the King of the falsetto" as he was popularly known, was born in Ciudad Juárez in the state of Chihuahua...

, Luis Miguel, Jorge Negrete

Jorge Negrete

Jorge Alberto Negrete Moreno is considered one of the most popular Mexican singers and actors of all time....

, Sunny Ozuna & The Sunliners

Sunny & the Sunglows

Sunny & the Sunglows were an American musical group formed in 1959 in San Antonio, Texas.The group's members were all chicanos with the exception of Amos Johnson Jr., and their style was a blend of rhythm and blues, tejano, blues, and mariachi. They first recorded in 1962 for their own label,...

, María Dolores Pradera

María Dolores Pradera

María Dolores Pradera is a Spanish melodic singer and actress, and one of the most prestigious voices in Spain and Latin America. She is also known as María Dolores or La Pradera...

, Javier Solís

Javier Solís

Javier Solís was a popular Mexican singer of boleros and rancheras, and a film actor.-Early history:...

, and Chavela Vargas

Chavela Vargas

Isabel Vargas Lizano is a Costa Rican-born Mexican singer. She is especially known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras genre - a folkloric musical genre widely popular in Mexico - but she is also recognized for her contribution to other popular Latin American song genres...

. In addition, Joaquin Sabina

Joaquín Sabina

Joaquín Ramón Martínez Sabina , known artistically as Joaquín Sabina, is a singer, songwriter, and poet. He has released fourteen studio albums, two live albums, and three compilation albums...

 paid homage to Jiménez with his song, "Por El Bulevar De Los Sueños Rotos" ("On the Boulevard Of Broken Dreams").

Like many of his contemporaries such as Jorge Negrete

Jorge Negrete

Jorge Alberto Negrete Moreno is considered one of the most popular Mexican singers and actors of all time....

, Pedro Infante

Pedro Infante

José Pedro Infante Cruz , better known as Pedro Infante, is the most famous actor and singer of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and is an idol of the Latinamerican people, together with Jorge Negrete and Javier Solís, who were styled the Tres Gallos Mexicanos . He was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa,...

, and Javier Solís

Javier Solís

Javier Solís was a popular Mexican singer of boleros and rancheras, and a film actor.-Early history:...

 (the so-called "Three Mexican Roosters" or "Los Tres Gallos Mexicanos"), Jiménez died young. He was only forty-seven years old when he succumbed to complications resulting from hepatitis

Hepatitis

Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...

.

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.

His Songs (Partial List)

1. 15 De Septiembre


2. A La Luz De Los Cocuyos


3. A La Orilla de Un Palmar


4. A Los 15 O 20 Tragos


5. A Punto De Llorar


6. A Ver Si Me Adivinas


7. Adiós A Pedro Infante


8. Adiós De Carrasco


9. Ahora Soy Rico


10. Al Pie De La Montaña


11. Allá Tú Si Me Olvidas


12. Alma De Acero


13. Amanecí En Tus Brazos


14. Amarga Navidad


15. Amor Del Alma


16. Amor Mío


17. Amor Sin Medida


18. Amorcito Corazón


19. Arrullo De Dios


20. Aunque Tengas Razón


21. Besos De Tequila


22. Bohemio De Mi Barrio


23. Buena O Mala


24. Caballo Prieto Azabache


25. Camino De Aguascalientes


26. Camino De Guanajuato


27. Camino De Sacramonte


28. Camino Viejo


29. Canción Del Corazón


30. Canta, Canta, Canta


31. Caricia Y Herida


32. Cariño Del Cariño


33. Cien Años


34. Compañera


35. Con La Mitad


36. Con La Muerte Entre Los Puños (El Boxeador)


37. Con Nada Me Pagas


38. Copa Tras Copa


39. Corazón, Corazón


40. Corazón...! (Conmigo Te Mueres)


41. Corrido De Mazatlán


42. Cuando El Destino


43. Cuando Juegue El Albur


44. Cuando Llegue El Momento


45. Cuando Lloran Los Hombres


46. Cuando Los Años Pasen


47. Cuando Nadie Te Quiera


48. Cuando Sale La Luna


49. Cuando Tenía Tu Edad


50. Cuando Vivas Conmigo


51. Cuando Vuelan Las Gaviotas


52. Cuatro Caminos


53. Cuatro Copas


54. Cuatro Primaveras


55. Dame Un Poco De Ti


56. De Tanto Amar


57. Declárate Inocente


58. Desesperanza


59. Desolación


60. Despacito


61. Dios Me Señalo


62. Échenme La Tierra Encima


63. El Arrepentido


64. El Caballo Blanco


65. El Camino De La Noche


66. El Cantinero


67. El Carro Del Sol


68. El Cielo De Chihuahua


69. El Cobarde


70. El Corrido De Mazatlán


71. El Corrido De Sonora


72. El Coyote


73. El Desesperado


74. El Hijo Del Pueblo


75. El Jinete


76. El Mala Estrella


77. El Peor De Los Caminos


78. El Perro Negro


79. El Quelite


80. El Rey


81. El Siete Mares


82. El Silencio De La Noche


83. El Último Trago


84. El Vencido


85. Ella


86. Ella Volvió


87. En El Último Trago


88. Es Inútil


89. Es Muy Niña


90. Esta Noche


91. Este Fue Mi Adiós


92. Extráñame


93. Fugitivo


94. Gabino Barrera


95. Golondrina Presumida


96. Gracias (Tres Corazones)


97. Guitarras De Media Noche


98. Hay Un Momento


99. Jesús Maldonado


100. José Manuel (El Borrego)


101. La Araña


102. La Bola Negra


103. La Borrachita


104. La Chancla


105. La Cruz Del Cielo


106. La Enorme Distancia


107. La Estrella


108. La Estrella De Jalisco


109. La Gardenia


110. La Interesada


111. La Malagradecida


112. La Mano De Dios


113. La Media Vuelta


114. La Mitad De Mi Orgullo


115. La Negra Cruz


116. La Noche De Mi Mal


117. La Que Se Fue


118. La Retirada


119. La Sota De Copas


120. La Traidora


121. La Última Carta


122. Las Botas De Charro (Amor Desde Niños)


123. Las Ciudades


124. Las Coplas


125. Las Llaves De La Casa


126. Llegando A Ti (Poco a Poco)


127. Llegaste A Mí


128. Llego Borracho El Borracho


129. Los Barandales del Puente


130. Los Dos Generales


131. Luces En El Puerto


132. Luto En El Corazón


133. Mala Cabeza


134. Maldición Ranchera


135. Maldito Abismo


136. Marcando El Paso


137. María Elena


138. María La Bandida


139. Martín Corona


140. Me Equivoque Contigo


141. Me Voy Para Olvidarte


142. Media Vuelta


143. Mi Aventura


144. Mi Tenampa


145. Miel Amarga


146. Mil Abrazos


147. Mis Ojos Me Denuncian


148. Muchacha Bonita


149. Muñequita Negra


150. Muy Despacito


151. Ni El Dinero Ni Nadie


152. No Me Amenaces


153. No Me Digas Nada


154. No Niegues Que Me Quisiste


155. No Te Comprendí


156. No Volveré


157. Noche Criolla


158. Nuestras Mentiras


159. Oí Tu Voz


160. Pa' Que Me Sirve La Vida


161. Pa' Todo El Año


162. Palabra De Hombre


163. Palabras Del Cielo


164. Paloma Negra


165. Paloma Querida


166. Paloma Sin Nido


167. Palomas Que Andan Volando


168. Para Morir Iguales


169. Pasaste A La Historia


170. Pedro El Herrero


171. Penas Arraigadas


172. Pídele A Dios


173. Por Mi Orgullo


174. Por Que Volviste A Mí


175. Por Si Me Olvidas


176. Porque Volviste (Ranchera)


177. Pueblo Chico


178. Qué Bonito Amor


179. Que Digan María...María...María


180. Que Pase La Lluvia


181. Que Se Acabe El Agua


182. Que Se Me Acabe La Vida


183. Qué Suerte La Mía


184. Qué Te Pasa Corazón


185. Que Te Vaya Bonito


186. Retirada


187. Ruega Por Nosotros


188. Se Acabaron Las Palabras


189. Se Va Diciembre


190. Seamos Humanos


191. Serenata Huasteca


192. Serenata Sin Luna


193. Si Nos Dejan


194. Si Tú Me Quisieras


195. Si Tú También Te Vas


196. Siempre Estoy Pensando En Tí


197. Sin Futuro


198. Sin Sangre En Las Venas


199. Solo Tú


200. Son Amores


201. Sonaron 4 Balazos


202. Sucedió En La Barranca


203. Te Estas Volviendo Mujer


204. Te Necesito Amor


205. Te Quiero, Te Quiero, Te Quiero


206. Te Solte La Rienda


207. Te Vas O Te Quedas


208. Tierra Sin Nombre


209. Tu Enamorado


210. Tu Partida


211. Tu Recuerdo


212. Tu Recuerdo En Cuatro Copas


213. Tu Recuerdo Y Yo


214. Tú Y La Mentira


215. Tú Y Las Nubes


216. Tus Lagrimas


217. Un Día Nublado


218. Un Mundo Raro


219. Un Pedazo De Luna


220. Un Presentimiento


221. Un Sueño De Tantos


222. Una Cruz En El Cielo


223. Una Luna Para Ti


224. Una Noche De Julio


225. Una Sola Caída


226. Vámonos


227. Varita De Nardo


228. Vengo A Verte


229. Vete Ya


230. Viejos Amigos


231. Virgencita De Zapopan


232. Viva Chihuahua


233. Y Es Verdad


234. Ya Lo Sé


235. Yo


236. Yo Debí Enamorarme De Tu Madre


237. Yo No Se Matar


238. Yo Soy Aquel

External links

• El Musico Project: Songs of José Alfredo Jiménez
• José Alfredo Jiménez
• The reminiscing of Miguel Aceves Mejía from La Fiesta Del Mariachi
• José Alfredo Jiménez - Musical Symbol of Mexico at CountrySymbols.com