Steven Wagner - Stevan Vagner, Podrum COLLEGIUM MELODIUM, World music museum in BELGRADE, Dragan Lucic and GREAT Edit Makedonska, present, "Bésame Mucho" (Kiss me a lot) is a song written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez.
It is one of the most famous boleros, and was recognized in 1999 as the most sung and recorded Mexican song in the world. The song was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.Emilio Tuero was the first to record the song, but the Lucho Gatica version made the song famous. Alys Robi recorded the song in a single album in 1943. Pedro Infante sang the song in English in his 1951 movie A toda maquina.
Andy Russell's recording, as produced by Johnny Mercer, became one of the first big hits for Capitol Records.
Corsican singer Tino Rossi recorded the song for Columbia Records (on May 10, 1945.
Jimmy Dorsey recorded a version that became a Billboard #1 Hit in 1944.
In 1957, Mexican band leader, pianist, and composer Juan García Esquivel and His Sonorama Orchestra recorded a version.
Covered by the Beatles both on stage and in the studio, they included the song in their setlist during the band's audition for Decca Records, their first EMI recording session and the Get Back sessions. A performance from the Get Back sessions was included in the documentary film Let It Be, while one from the EMI audition appeared on the Anthology 1 compilation. They sang their rendition of the song with English lyrics that do not correspond to the original Spanish lyrics.
The Coasters released a version of the song that featured King Curtis on the saxophone.
In 1962, the song was performed by vocal group the Hi-Lo's on their final Columbia LP, This Time It's Love, with orchestral accompaniment provided by Clare Fischer. That same year saw the release of an instrumental version by bass guitarist Jet Harris.
In 1963 jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery recorded a version for his album Boss Guitar (Riverside).
The Italian diva Mina put the song on the album dedicated to her father, in 1967.
In 1970, João Gilberto recorded it on his album João Gilberto en Mexico.
In 1976, Egyptian-born singer Dalida (Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti) recorded a disco-style version of the song in French.
In 1979, Estonian singer Jaak Joala & Radar recorded version of the song in Estonian.
