Luisito Rey
Who is Luisito Rey?
Luis Gallego Sánchez, known by his stage name Luisito Rey, was born in Cádiz on June 28, 1945, and died in Barcelona on December 9, 1992. He was the son of flamenco singers Rafael Gallego Rey and Matilde Sánchez Repiso, and is remembered above all as the father of international singer Luis Miguel, whom he introduced to the world of music. His life was shrouded in a fair amount of mystery, with episodes that were never fully clarified.
Career
He began his artistic career in the early 1960s, performing for several months at the Circo Price and then touring much of Spain. In 1962 he recorded his first record under producer Ricardo Ávedol, gained popularity on television and wrote songs for other artists, including singer Peret. His creative streak clashed with Francoist censorship, which, combined with the approach of compulsory military service, led him to go into exile in Paris, where he first adopted the name Luis Miguel Domínguez — in homage to the bullfighter of the same name — and mixed with figures such as Édith Piaf, Charles Aznavour and Yves Montand. His performance alongside American singer-songwriter Trini López at the Paris Olympia, singing the song “El loco,” earned him praise from Pablo Picasso himself.
In the mid-1960s he moved to New York, where he took back the stage name Luisito Rey, and shortly afterward relocated to Argentina, where he signed with CBS and recorded the song that would establish him internationally for good: “Frente a un vaso de vino,” which by around 1970 had sold over a million copies. Already married to Marcela Basteri, the couple settled in Puerto Rico, where his first son, Luis Miguel, was born. His artistic activity later took him through New Jersey, Nicaragua, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, until, after the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, he returned to Spain and later to Mexico, where in 1980 he even appeared on the legendary show “Siempre en Domingo.”
Personal life
From 1982 he gradually stepped back from his own career to devote all his efforts to that of his son Luis Miguel, whom he always regarded himself as having mentored, alongside the influence of Elvis Presley. His artistic guidance over the singer continued until Luis Miguel came of age, around 1988. He died in Barcelona in 1992 following a bout of pneumonia.