Rodrigo was born in Sagunto and was blind from the age of three as a result of a bout of diphtheria. He studied music under Francisco Antich in Valencia and under Paul Dukas in Paris. After briefly returning to Spain, he went to Paris again to study musicology, first under Maurice Emmanuel and then André Pirro.
Rodrigo's most famous work was the Concierto de Aranjuez (1939), a concerto for solo acoustic guitar and orchestra. The central adagio movement is one of the most recognizable in 20th century classical music, featuring the interplay of guitar with cor anglais.
The success of this piece led to commissions from a number of prominent soloists, including the flautist James Galway and the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.
In 1991, Rodrigo was raised to the nobility by King Juan Carlos, given the title "Marqués de los jardines de Aranjuez". He died in 1999 in Madrid.