Biography
Born on 24 May 1916 in Torredelcampo, Jaén, Spain, Juan Valderrama Blanca grew up amid the rural landscapes of Andalucia, where flamenco surrounded him from an early age. As a teenager he caught the attention of the singer Niña de la Puebla, who brought him to Madrid for performances in 1935. Throughout the Spanish Civil War he entertained troops and began recording, later securing his place within the flamenco community. He wrote roughly three hundred songs, frequently working alongside his longtime guitarist El Niño Ricardo, among them “De Polizón” and “Madre Hermosa.” The piece most closely associated with him, “El Emigrante,” arose from his reflections on the exiled Republicans who left Spain after the conflict; he performed it in the 1960 film of the same name and the song later surfaced in La Guerra De Papá (1977). Beginning in the 1950s he took roles in several motion pictures, among them El Rey De La Carretera (1956), El Emigrante (1960) and El Padre Coplillas (1968), the last of which featured his renditions of “Grandeza Divina,” “Plegaria De Paz,” “Ruiseñores Del Alba” and “Corazón A Corazón.”
Although he remained a steadfast guardian of flamenco’s traditional forms, Valderrama also worked to sustain its appeal among younger listeners. In 1983 he received the Medalla al Mérito en el Trabajo, and over the following two decades his contributions earned widespread recognition across Spain. Tribute events followed at Madrid’s Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in 1994, the Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla in 1998, the Festival del Cante de Las Minas de La Unión in 2000 and Granada’s Teatro Alhambra in 2001.
From the mid-1950s he maintained a close partnership with the singer Lolita Caballero, born Dolores Abril, yet could not secure a divorce from his first wife for more than twenty years. Early in 2004 a Madrid concert staged in his honor brought together numerous prominent performers. Shortly afterward he suffered a heart attack and died while recovering, on 12 April 2004 in Espartinas, Seville, Spain.
Although he remained a steadfast guardian of flamenco’s traditional forms, Valderrama also worked to sustain its appeal among younger listeners. In 1983 he received the Medalla al Mérito en el Trabajo, and over the following two decades his contributions earned widespread recognition across Spain. Tribute events followed at Madrid’s Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in 1994, the Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla in 1998, the Festival del Cante de Las Minas de La Unión in 2000 and Granada’s Teatro Alhambra in 2001.
From the mid-1950s he maintained a close partnership with the singer Lolita Caballero, born Dolores Abril, yet could not secure a divorce from his first wife for more than twenty years. Early in 2004 a Madrid concert staged in his honor brought together numerous prominent performers. Shortly afterward he suffered a heart attack and died while recovering, on 12 April 2004 in Espartinas, Seville, Spain.
Albums

Con los Grandes de la Guitarra
2024

Un Cantaor Único
2024

Concierto en Torrente
2024

Canciones, Vol. 3
2024

15 Grandes
2024

Canciones, Vol. 2
2024

Juanito Valderrama y Dolores Abril
2024

La Grandeza
2024

Canciones, Vol. 1
2024

El Corazón de Sevilla
2024

Gitano - Flamenco y Coplas
2024

Juanito Valderrama-Inolvidables, Vol. 2
2023

Juanito Valderrama-Inolvidables, Vol. 1
2023

Juanito Valderrama-Éxitos, Vol. 1
2023

Juanito Valderrama-Éxitos, Vol. 2
2023

La hija de Juan Simón
2023

El Emigrante
2023

Su primera comunión
2023

La muerte del Piyayo
2023

Semblanza de Manuel Torres
2023

Málaga tierra señora
2023

Sin freno corre un caballo
2023

Así se canta en Triana
2023

Piropo jerezano
2023

Fandangos del Romeral
2023

Coplillas de la trilla
2023

Canto a la Argentina
2023

El Cristo de los faroles
2023

La Hija de Juan Simon
2023

Su Primera Comunión
2022

El Cristo de los Faroles
2022

Por Sevillanas
2021

Grabaciones Completas
2018

Canta
2018

Fandangos
2017

El legado de Juanito Valderrama
2016

Grandes de la Música Española: Juanito Valderrama y Porrina de Badajoz
2014

Ilustre Memoria del Cante
2014

Asi Se Canta en Triana y Otros Exitos
2014

Siguen Siendo los Más Grandes: Valderrama
2013

Juanito Valderrama : Sus Grandes Éxitos, Vol. 1
2013

Juanito Valderrama
2011

Piropo al Padre
2010

Figuras del Cante
2010

Las Primeras Canciones de Juanito Valderrama
2010

Juanito Valderrama, Año 1930-50
2008

Juanito Valderrama, Grandes Éxitos
2007

Archivo De Flamenco Vol.5 (Juanito Valderrama)
2007

Grandes del Cante Flamenco
2007

Lo Mejor de Juanito Valderrama
2006

Juanito Valderrama : Fandangos de Cacería y Otros Fandangos
2006

Su Primera Comunión y Otros Exitos
2006

En la Cruz de los Caminos
2005

Adios, Mi España Querida
2004

Historia del Cante Flamenco, Vol.2
2003

50 Años de Flamenco, Vol. 3: 1940-1990
2003

Homenaje, Vol. 2
2003

Homenaje, Vol.1
2003

Homenaje, Vol. 3
2003

Fandangos de Cacería
2003

Grandes de la Copla
2002

De Sevilla a Punta Umbría
2001

El Veterano
2001

Juanito Valderrama, Vol. 1
2001

Homenaje A Juanito Valderrama
1994

Grandes Exitos De Juanito Valderrama
1994

Que Bonito Es Querer
1994

Juanito Valderrama : Sus Grandes Exitos
1994

Recuerdos
1993

La Copla, Vol. 3
1991

Una Vida de Coplas
1989

Juanito Valderrama : Sus Grandes Exitos, Vol. 2
1989

Mis Bodas de Oro Con el Cante
1988

Diferentes Estilos del Cante
1988

12 Estilos de Fandango
1988

Peleas en Broma por Sevillanas
1973

Grandes Éxitos
1972

Peleas en Broma por Fandangos y Sevillanas
1972

12 Peleas en Broma
1972

La Hija de Juan Simón
1971

Las 16 Mejores Peleas en Broma
1971

Historia del Cante Flamenco, Vol. 3
1968

Historia del Cante Flamenco, Vol. 2
1968

Historia del Cante Flamenco, Vol. 1
1968

Sus Grandes Éxitos
1967

Así Se Canta en Triana y Otros Éxitos
1965

Su Primera Comunión y Otros Éxitos
1959

Cantaor de Tronio
1959

Vintage Spanish Song Nº32 - EPs Collectors
1957

Vintage Flamenco Cante Nº12 - EPs Collectors
1957

Vintage Flamenco Cante Nº11 - EPs Collectors
1957

El Cante Flamenco de Juanito Valderrama
1950
Singles



