Spanish Gypsy rumba singer Pedro Pubill Calaf, better known as Peret, was born March 24, 1935 in Mataró (near Barcelona), Spain.
In 1957, Peret recorded his first singles with one or two songs on each side. Since then, year after year, he gave the Spanish public dance floor hits, even before the traditional ‘summer song’ existed. In the late 1960s he moved to Madrid, where he became a sensation.
Gypsy rumba songs like “Borriquito como tú”, one of the songs most widely translated from Spanish, went around the whole world, and now remains in the collective memory of Latin music.
Peret was the Spanish representative at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974.
International artists like Tom Jones, Paul Anka, Rafaella Carrá, David Byrne, Sargento García, El Gran Silencio and Spanish artists such as Lola Flores, Los Amaya, El Pescaílla, Joan Manuel Serrat, Joaquín Sabina, Julio Iglesias, Estopa, Jarabe de Palo, Ojos de Brujo, Macaco, Amparanoia, Raimundo Amador, Kiko Veneno and Muchachito Bombo Infierno, are some of the many artists who recorded Peret’s songs or who performed with him.
His album Que levante el dedo is a social chronicle that describes, in song, the faces of women from the street today. Peret, with more than 70 years of experience behind him, had an objective: to revive the essence of the rumba for future generations.
Peret passed away on August 27, 2014
Discography
Peret 1967 (Discophon, 1967)
Rumba pa’ti (Discophon, 1968)
Una lágrima 1968 (Vergara, 1968)
Lamento gitano 1969 (Discophon, 1969)
Gipsy Rumbas (Discophon, 1969)
Canta para el cine (Vergara, 1970)
Borriquito (Ariola, 1971)
Una lágrima 1972 (Ariola, 1972)
Mi santa (Ariola, 1973)
Lo mejor de Peret (Ariola, 1974)
Peret y sus gitanos (Emi, 1974)
Canta y sé feliz (Ariola, 1974)
Saboreando (Ariola, 1978)
Lágrimas negras (Ariola, 1978)
El joven Peret (CBS, 1979)
El jilguero (Belter, 1980)
De cap a la palla (Belter, 1981)
De coco a la paja (Belter, 1981)
No se pué aguantar (PDI, 1991)
Gitana Hechicera (PDI, 1992)
Rumbas de la clausura (PDI, 1992)
Cómo me gusta (PDI, 1993)
Que disparen flores (PDI, 1995)
Jesús de Nazareth (PDI, 1996)
Rey de la Rumba (Virgin, 2000)
Que levante el dedo (K Industria Cultural, 2007)
De los cobardes nunca se ha escrito nada (Universal Music, 2009)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
