Perales reveals his infallible recipe to compose the successful songs for Raphael or Rocío Jurado

After almost five decades making the Hispanic world fall in love with his anthems, José Luis Perales he wants to get off the stage and dedicate more time to the pleasures of his life. Of course, in a talk with Efe in Buenos Aires, in which he defends reggaeton and undresses his eternal fears, the prolific Spanish artist warns: “As long as there are stories to tell, I’ll be there.”

Father of two children, now grown up, and grandfather of four grandchildren, Perales, who in addition to succeeding singing, treasures a long career as a composer of ‘hits’ for Raphael, Isabel Pantoja, Rocío Jurado or Mocedades, believes that his present passes through to continue enjoying his “passion”, music, but in a different way, writing in peace in the piece of land that he loves so much.

Making lyrics that are felt by the singers for whom he composes is for him the true success of his profession. Even the Jurado wondered how he could know her so well. “Well, look, Rocío, because I have studied in Seville for seven years with the Salesians and see if I know the Andalusian character. And what are you? Well, you are Andalusia,” he recalls.

Thus, the artist has revealed his trick to compose hit songs for other singers. “In what I have written for the others I try to imagine at least the singer singing that, I am even going to tell you a secret: I imitated them. I used to make a song for Raphael, even now I do it, and I imitate Raphael to see how he would do it, “she confesses.

Always accompanied by his son Pablo, who has followed in his footsteps and is dedicated to musical production, Perales, who in recent years has even published novels, defines himself as “a story teller”, observer of things on the street and of people’s lives.

Although today he rules out, for example, writing reggaeton. “Because I don’t know how to do it, not for anything else”, he emphasizes about a musical style that “young boys have invented and that they have the right to sing it and have fun with it and live from it, because there are many and that must be respected”.