Mexican Singer, Songwriter and Producer. Born Alberto Aguilera Valadez, he was one of Latin America's top selling artists with over 100 million records sold. The youngest of 10 children, he wrote his first song at age 13 and went on to compose more than 1,500 songs. His father was a farmer and his mother a housewife. The family lost contact with his father after he was taken to a psychiatric hospital in Mexico City when Gabriel was still a baby. Unable to support her children, his mother moved the family to the border city of Ciudad Juarez, where he grew up as she worked as a maid. Unable to care for him, she sent him to an orphanage. He traveled to Mexico City as a teenager and slept on the streets and in train stations while trying to break into the music business. During that time he was accused of robbery and sent to jail, however the prison director and his wife helped get him freed. He signed his first record contract in 1971 and had his first big hit with 'No Tengo Dinero' (I don't have any money). Over the course of his career, he would released several dozen albums, including two in 2016. Artists across Latin America and in the United States covered many of his songs, including Paul Anka and Marc Anthony. Gabriel also wrote and produced albums for artists such as Mexican singer Lucha Villa and Spain's Rocio Durcal. He sold three million albums in the United States alone, a number dwarfed by his sales in Mexico. He was nominated for six Grammy Awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame and in 2009, he was declared the Latin Recording Academy person of the year at the Latin Grammys. Gabriel died of an apparent heart attack at his home in Santa Monica.

Mexican Singer, Songwriter and Producer. Born Alberto Aguilera Valadez, he was one of Latin America's top selling artists with over 100 million records sold. The youngest of 10 children, he wrote his first song at age 13 and went on to compose more than 1,500 songs. His father was a farmer and his mother a housewife. The family lost contact with his father after he was taken to a psychiatric hospital in Mexico City when Gabriel was still a baby. Unable to support her children, his mother moved the family to the border city of Ciudad Juarez, where he grew up as she worked as a maid. Unable to care for him, she sent him to an orphanage. He traveled to Mexico City as a teenager and slept on the streets and in train stations while trying to break into the music business. During that time he was accused of robbery and sent to jail, however the prison director and his wife helped get him freed. He signed his first record contract in 1971 and had his first big hit with 'No Tengo Dinero' (I don't have any money). Over the course of his career, he would released several dozen albums, including two in 2016. Artists across Latin America and in the United States covered many of his songs, including Paul Anka and Marc Anthony. Gabriel also wrote and produced albums for artists such as Mexican singer Lucha Villa and Spain's Rocio Durcal. He sold three million albums in the United States alone, a number dwarfed by his sales in Mexico. He was nominated for six Grammy Awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame and in 2009, he was declared the Latin Recording Academy person of the year at the Latin Grammys. Gabriel died of an apparent heart attack at his home in Santa Monica.

Bio by: Louis du Mort