To All The Fans He's Loved Before: Julio Iglesias Revisits His Legacy on New "Greatest Hits"

The artist born Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva practically defines “international superstar.” Iglesias, with roughly eighty albums under his belt since his 1969 debut, can boast over 300 million units sold worldwide, and has recorded in fourteen languages. On April 9, Legacy Recordings will recognize his extensive career with the first American release of 1 – Greatest Hits. Already certified multi-platinum in many Spanish-speaking territories, the 2-CD Greatest Hits differs from the typical such set, though, as it’s built around new recordings of old favorites made in 2006 and 2011.

Julio Iglesias rose to fame in his native Spain in the late 1960s. The rising star was elected to represent the country in the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest, in which he came in fourth place for his song “Gwendolyne.” This was no setback, though. It wasn’t long before he scored a No. 1 hit with “Un Canto a Galicia” and spread his romantic musical gospel around Europe, recording in French and Italian as well as Spanish. Following a move to the United States, the Discos Columbia artist was signed to the label’s U.S. parent, CBS, as the eighties dawned. At CBS, he continued to sing and write repertoire in a variety of languages also including Portuguese and German. Iglesias’ fame had spread to English-speaking areas with the U.K. success of his 1981 revival of Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine.” The standard went all the way to No. 1 in the U.K. and paved the way for 1984’s breakthrough album 1100 Bel Air Place. Bolstered by the success of the Albert Hammond/Hal David-penned “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” performed as a duet with Willie Nelson, Bel Air Place sold four million albums in the United States alone. The romantic troubadour had truly arrived, and was greeted on the album not only by Nelson, but by The Beach Boys (on a cover of Hammond’s “The Air That I Breathe,” previously a hit for The Hollies) and Diana Ross (on the hit single “All of You,” written by Iglesias with Cynthia Weil and Tony Renis). Yet even that phenomenally successful LP was just the icing on the cake of a remarkable career; in 1983, The Guinness Book of World Records awarded the charismatic crooner its first and only Diamond Award for having sold more records in more languages than any other artist in music history.

In the years that followed, Iglesias racked up record-breaking sales, sold-out tours, a Grammy Award, and even a guest appearance on The Golden Girls! As patriarch, he found himself nominated for a Grammy the same year (1998) as his son, Enrique. Prior to Greatest Hits – 1, which arrived in many Latin countries in 2011, Iglesias’ last album was 2006’s Romantic Classics on which he brought his stamp to songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, George Michael and The Bee Gees.

After the jump: details on Greatest Hits, plus full track listings and pre-order links!

The first CD of Greatest Hits focuses on songs familiar to English-language listeners, and includes nine duets with such performers as Frank Sinatra (“Summer Wind,” from Sinatra’s first volume of Duets), Dolly Parton (“When You Tell Me That You Love Me”), Art Garfunkel (“Let It Be Me”) and Stephanie Spruill (“As Time Goes By”). Willie Nelson, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder appear, too, on 2006 recordings of “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” “All of You” and “My Love,” respectively. From the 2011 sessions, Sting appears on “Fragile,” and Iglesias revisits Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager’s “When I Need You” plus staples such as “Crazy” and “Always on My Mind.” Iglesias’ 1990 solo take on Hammond and David’s “99 Miles from LA” has been included, too. The second disc’s selections were all recorded in 2011 save “La Cumparsita,” from 2006. These songs date back to some of Iglesias’ earliest hits such as “Un Canto a Galicia,” 1980’s Grammy-nominated “Hey” and 1981’s “De niña a mujer.”

Julio Iglesias’ mélange of recently-recorded songs and originals hits U.S. stores from Legacy Recordings on April 9. In addition to the standard 2-CD edition, a 2-CD/1-DVD version will also be available. The DVD captures a 1990 concert at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre which has previously been released on VHS as well as internationally on DVD. Starry Night – Live from the Greek Theatre offers hits like “Begin the Beguine,” “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” and Hammond and Sager’s “Moonlight Lady” as well as a Brazilian medley of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Desafinado,” Jacques Brel’s “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” and classics “Mona Lisa” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” You can order both versions of 1 – Greatest Hits below!

Julio Iglesias, 1 – Greatest Hits (2-CD edition) (Columbia/Legacy 88765 438212 2, 2013)

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