Raphael

Miguel Rafael Martos Sánchez simply referred to as Raphael is a Spanish singer and television film and theater actor Raphael is recognized as one of the most successful Spanish singers in the world He is nicknamed both El Ruiseñor de Linares El Divo de Linares and El Niño His family moved to Madrid when he was nine months old and he started singing when he was just three He joined a childrens choir at age four When he was nine he was recognized as the best child voice in Europe at a contest in Salzburg Austria His two idols were US singer Elvis Presley and French diva Edith Piaf He began his professional career by singing with the Dutch record label Philips He adopted his own peculiar singing style from the beginning he is known for acting each one of his songs while on stage emphasizing his gestures with high dramatic effect It is not unusual for him to ad lib lyrics as to localize a song depending on the venue hes singing at He also possesses a wide vocal range which he often used in the beginning of his career as to evoke a choirboy approach to some songs When he was nineteen he won first second and third awards at the famous Benidorm International Song Festival Spain in 1962 and 1963 After a brief relation with Barclay record label he signed a contract with Hispavox recording company and began a long artistic relationship with the musical director of this label the late talented Argentinian orchestrator Waldo de los Ríos and intensify the partnership with outstanding Spanish songwriter Manuel Alejandro