At the age of 14 he made his first record with his brother Pepe, "Los Chiquitos de Algeciras" ("Kids of Algeciras"). In the early 1960s, de Lucía toured with the flamenco troupe of dancer José Greco. In New York City in 1963, at the age of 15, he had his second encounter with Sabicas and his first encounter with Mario Escudero, both of whom became de Lucía's mentors and later close friends. They urged him to start writing his own material, advice he took to heart. In 1964, he met Madrileño guitarist Ricardo Modrego with whom he recorded three albums: "Dos guitarras flamencas" (1964), "12 canciones de García Lorca para guitarra" and "12 éxitos para 2 guitarras flamencas" (1965).