Did You Know...

This liability for entering the U.S. market did not deter Julio Iglesias from conquering every other nation that had radio stations and record players. What almost kept him from becoming the heartthrob of millions was, first of all, the law studies that he hoped would make him a diplomat, and second, his soccer career, which was outstanding enough for him to earn the goalie job for Real Madrid (where David Beckham plays).

When he was 22, Iglesias nearly died in an auto accident that ended his soccer career and made him look elsewhere for his livelihood. During his two-year convalescence from partial paralysis, Iglesias wrote poetry and eventually began to add guitar accompaniment to the lyrics. Suddenly, he was a singer/songwriter, one with a bagful of songs that questioned Fate's intervention in his life.

With this idea in mind, Iglesias entered the 1968 Benidorm song festival, Spain's most prestigious music contest. His original composition, 'La vida sigue igual,' won the contest, and soon he was signed to Columbia Records and recording the song, which reached Number One in Spain and Latin America. By 1970, he was a music icon all over Europe, with festival appearances in Germany, France, Luxembourg and Japan, as well as in Latin America. He represented Spain in the 1970 Eurovision Song contest, though he did not win. He did, however, cement his status as Spain's principal pop singer.