José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz (17 February 1948 – 28 September 2019), known professionally as José José (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse xoˈse]) was a Mexican singer and actor. Dubbed as "El Príncipe de la Canción" ("the Prince of Song"), his performance and vocal style have influenced many Latin pop artists in a career that spanned more than four decades. Due to his vocals and popularity, José José was considered by Latin audiences and media as an icon of Latin pop music and one of the most emblematic Latin singers of his time.
Born into a family of musicians, José began his musical career in his early teens playing guitar and singing in serenade. He later joined a jazz and bossa nova trio where he sang and played bass and double bass. José José found success as a solo artist in the early 1970s. Demonstrating his tenor vocal ability with a stunning performance of the song "El Triste" at a Latin music festival held in Mexico City in 1970, he climbed the Latin charts during that decade. Having achieved recognition as a balladeer, his singing garnered universal critical acclaim from musical peers and media.
In the 1980s, after signing with Ariola Records, José rose to international prominence as one of the most popular and talented Latin performers. His 1983 album Secretos has sold over four million units. With many international hits, he received several Grammy nominations, sold more than 40 million albums and was once courted by music legend Frank Sinatra, who wanted to win him for his own label. He sold out in venues such as Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall. His music reached non-Spanish-speaking countries in Europe and Asia. He forged a career as an actor, starring in movies such as Gavilán o Paloma (1985) and Perdóname Todo (1995).
José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz was born on 17 February 1948 in Clavería, Azcapotzalco, Mexico City. His father, José Sosa Esquivel, was an operatic tenor (tenor comprimario) and his mother, Margarita Ortiz, was a classical pianist. When José showed interest in singing, they tried to discourage him claiming that it was too difficult to be successful in show business. In that time, his reportedly alcoholic father abandoned the family forcing José to work to help his mother and younger brother.
At the age of fifteen, his mother gave him his first piano. Besides working in his teens, he learned to play guitar and sang in the church and in serenades along with his neighborhood friends for extra money.
In 1967, at the age of 19, José formed Los Peg, a Mexican band of bossa nova/jazz. Although they made several recordings as a group, they did not reach commercial success. In 1965, under the name of "Pepe Sosa" and pursuing a solo career encouraged by his mother, he recorded the singles "Ma vie" and "El Mundo", which did not sell well either. He made a career breakthrough when he was invited to perform a song for a friend's sister on her birthday. His friend's sister was the executive secretary for the managing director of Orfeón Records. He took a new performing name after this, joining his first name "José" with his father's first name (also José), who had died of alcoholism. He signed a contract with RCA Victor and recorded his first album: José José (also known as Cuidado). The album featured songs by Rubén Fuentes and Armando Manzanero. It was arranged by his former teacher Mario Patrón, who was considered the best jazz musician of Mexico, and employed Brazilian percussionist Mayuto Correa, who was in Mexico City playing with bossa nova stars João Gilberto, Carlos Lyra, Leny Andrade, and Tamba Trio. The album's sound is a combination of boleros and romantic ballads with a jazz and bossa nova influence. The quality of his debut album garnered praise from critics but did not achieve much popular success.
1970–1980: "El Triste", consolidation and Ariola Records
In early 1970 he released the song "La nave del olvido" which became his first big hit in Mexico and Latin America, and recorded his second album: La Nave Del Olvido. José's big break came on 15 March 1970, when he represented Mexico in the international song festival the II Festival de la Canción Latina (Latin Song Festival II, predecessor of the OTI Festival) with a performance of the song "El Triste". Although José José finished in third place, his performance helped launch his music career to a wider audience.
José José had several major hits in the 1970s including "De Pueblo en Pueblo", "Hasta Que Vuelvas", "Déjame Conocerte", "Sentimientos", "Paloma", and "Gavilan o Paloma". One song which was played on the radio, "El Príncipe" ("The Prince"), earned the artist the title "El Príncipe de la Canción" ("The Prince of Songs") from a DJ.
In 1973, Frank Sinatra listened to José's music at Reprise Records and invited him to record a duet and a full album under Sinatra's label. The collaboration was impossible due to José's exclusivity agreement with his label.
In 1976, José signed with Ariola Records with Reencuentro being the first albums to be released under the label a year later.
1980–1989: International stardom, Secretos and Mexico's top singer
José José released several successful albums including Amor Amor (1980), Romántico (1981), Gracias (1981), Mi Vida. Amor Amor sold over 1.5 million copies in Latin America. He recorded a Spanish version of the hit "New York, New York", as a tribute to his friend Frank Sinatra.
In 1983, José José released Secretos, in which he collaborated with Manuel Alejandro for the album's compositions. "Lo Dudo" ("I Doubt It") and "El Amor Acaba" ("The Love is Over") were major hits from the album and Secretos became the best selling recording in his career with four million copies sold. Secretos was nominated for Best Latin Pop Performance in the Grammy Awards of 1985. Following the release of Secretos, José continued his international success. He released Reflexiones in 1984. The album was written, produced and arranged by Rafael Pérez-Botija and sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Reflexiones became the first album to reach number one on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums in the United States upon its establishment in 1985, and was also nominated for Best Latin Pop Performance in the 1986 Grammy Awards.
In 1985, José José collaborated with performers such as Plácido Domingo, Julio Iglesias, Roberto Carlos, José Luis Rodríguez "El Puma", Pedro Vargas and Vicente Fernández for the charity single, "Cantaré, cantarás". He also performed a duet with Puerto Rican singer José Feliciano on the song "Por Ella" ("For Her") on Feliciano's album Ya Soy Tuyo (1985) which was also nominated in the same category on the 1986 Grammy Awards. The same year, José starred in his autobiographic film Gavilán o Paloma, alongside Christian Bach and the comedian Jorge Ortiz de Pinedo. The following, he released the album Promesas, written, produced and arranged by Pérez-Botija. Its main hits were "Amantes", "Me vas a echar de menos", "Más", and "Tú me estás volviendo loco". One of the album's singles, "Pruébame", was nominated for Best Latin Pop Performance at the 1987 Grammy Awards. Promesas became his second number-one album on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums. On his next album Siempre Contigo in 1986 he worked with the Spanish producer and guitarist Paco Cepero. The album produced three singles: "¿Y Quién Puede Ser?", "Corre y Ve Con Él", and "Sin Saber". The former track became his first number-one song on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States. It was nominated for Best Latin Pop Performance in the Grammy Awards of 1988 and became his third number-one album on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart.
José José told magazine Selecciones that during 1985 to 1987, he had a personal crisis because "my life was going on airplanes, trucks, locked in a hotel room." His daughter was born in 1982 and that more or less balanced his marriage, but after a while he divorced his then wife. In the same year, he also finished his work relation with his manager, who also was his brother in law. During this events, and his on-going battle with alcoholism, José José recorded his album Soy Así; it became his fourth number-one album on the Latin Pop Albums chart. The album included four singles: the title track (became his second number-one song on the Hot Latin Songs chart), "Mi Hembra", "Salúdamela Mucho", and "Vergüenza Me Da Quererte". Soy Así was nominated for Best Latin Pop Performance in the 1989 Grammy Awards. It was also nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the 1st Annual Lo Nuestro Awards in the same year while José José was awarded Pop Male Artist of the Year.