Background
Carmelo Larrea Carricarte was born at 1 Department of Administration and Management on July 16, 1907 in the neighbourhood of Elorrieta in Deusto, Spain (nowadays a district of Bilbao), to Mariano Larrea and Nemesia Carricarte.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Carmelo Larrea
Edit ProfileEducation
He studied commerce at the Escolapios and music at the Philharmonic Society"s Music Academy, soon deciding to pursue a career in the latter. He studied organ and choir singing under Jesús Guridi.
Career
During the 1940s and "50s he composed famous songs such as "Noche triste", "Number te puedo querer", "Dos cruces" and "Camino verde". Early years
At the same time he worked as a bicycle shop assistant. He worked for five years at the circus as part of a piano/violin/concertina trio, making his debut with the Carrey brothers circus in San Sebastián.
After playing in Barcelona and Madrid, the trio joined the Corzana and Feijoo circuses.
An avid pianist, Larrea became interested in jazz. On January 31, 1931, Larrea married Victoria García y Encinas.
Songwriting success
He then joined a band in Sevilla and played the saxophone in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood. Encourage by a fellow musician, Larrea began to write his own songs.
His first hit was "¡Qué buena soy!", bulerías sung by Gracia de Triana in the film Escuadrilla.
Even more successful was his song "Noche triste", premiered by Antonio Machín in 1941 in Seville. Many other popular compositions followed, including "Las doce en punto", "Un año más" and "Number te puedo querer". The latter, sung by Jorge Sepúlveda, earned him a golden record in Mexico in 1952.
Larrea then moved to Madrid, where he played in the Alazán orchestra.
This composition –originally known as "Soledad" (Solitude)– was "Dos cruces" (Two Crosses), his most famous song and one of Spain"s most popular boleros. Originally sung by Jorge Gallarzo, a version that earned him his second golden record in 1954, it has been covered over 80 times.
He then penned "Camino verde", a song performed by Angelillo in the 1955 film Suspiros de Triana, directed by Ramón Torrado. Many of his compositions ended up as leitmotivs in films such as Manuel Summers" The Girl in Mourning.
Later years and death
In January 1955 Larrea moved to Latin America, where he spent nine years before returning to Spain.
He then went to London to join the orchestra at the Nili, an Israeli cruise ship that toured Nordic countries. Larrea is considered one of Spain"s most prolific songwriters of the 20th century, particularly in genres such as the bolero and the pasodoble. During his time he was compared to songwriters such as Agustín Lara, Charles Trenet, Osvaldo Farrés and Bobby Capó due to the fact that he wrote both the music and the lyrics of his songs.
In 2011, a garden in Bilbao was named after him, concerts took place in his honour and his biography –Carmelo Larrea (1907-1980) Compositor de boleros universales– was published.
Membership
After a member of the trio left for the military service, Larrea joined the Bilbao-based dance orchestra Louisiana Terraza.
