Miguel Rios

Born in Granada in 1944, Miguel Ríos established himself from the early 1960s on the Spanish scene under the name Mike Ríos, initially in a rock and roll and twist register before broadening his writing toward pop rock, symphonic rock and, later, blues. He recorded his first EPs in 1962 and gained wider recognition with the singles «El río» and «Vuelvo a Granada» in 1968. In 1969, «Himno a la alegría», a pop adaptation of Beethoven arranged by Waldo de los Ríos, gave Miguel Ríos international visibility and left a lasting mark on his discography. The albums Despierta (1970), Unidos (1971) and Miguel Ríos en directo: Conciertos de Rock y amor (1972) accompanied a period in which he alternated rock, ballads and more ambitious stage formats. In the 1980s, Rock and Ríos (1982), a double live album recorded in Madrid, became a landmark of Spanish-language rock, while «Santa Lucía», «Bienvenidos» and «El rock de una noche de verano» established a highly recognizable repertoire. Miguel Ríos then pursued a career of large tours, television with ¡Qué noche la de aquel año! in 1987, and collaborative projects with Ana Belén, Víctor Manuel, Joan Manuel Serrat and Joaquín Sabina. His recent trajectory includes 60 mp3 (2004), Symphonic Ríos (2018) and Un largo tiempo (2021), where he returns to a more restrained songwriting style, between mature rock, blues and social reflection.