Bésame Mucho
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Besame Mucho is a 1940 song written by Consuelo Velazquez and translated into English by Sunny Skylar. It was played live by The Beatles from 1961 to 1962 and recorded by the band more than once.
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[edit] Original Version
Besame Mucho was written in 1940 by Consuelo Velazquez and first recorded by Emilio Tuero. The title is Spanish for 'kiss me a lot.' American composer and singer Sunny Skylar first translated it into English and it became an international hit following it's appearance in the 1944 film "Follow The Boys."
[edit] The Beatles' Version
The cost of records was high in the 1950's and early 1960's. Therefore, The Beatles often found themselves looking through the record collections of friends and family. Paul McCartney found a copy of The Coasters' 1960 cover of Besame Mucho and it quickly became one of his favorite songs. McCartney recalled, "I had this very diverse little record collection from which I was culling material. I remember I had the Coasters' Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart, which was on the b-side of Yakety Yak. I can look back on these records and see what it was I liked. With Besame Mucho by the Coasters, it's a minor song and it changes to a major, and where it changes to a major is such a big moment musically. That major change attracted me so much." The Beatles began to play the song live in 1961, and continued to play it live for over a year. McCartney would sing the song in an exaggerated Latin style. The earliest recorded Beatles version of the song was from The Beatles' failed audition at Decca Records on January 1, 1962. The Beatles again recorded it on June 6, 1962, while auditioning (successfully) for EMI Records. This version was thought to have been destroyed, but was unearthed in the 1980's and later issued on Anthology 1. George Harrison recalled, "I think George Martin felt we were raw and rough but that we had some quality that was interesting. We did Love Me Do, PS I Love You, Ask Me Why, Besame Mucho and Your Feet's Too Big, among others." The band again recorded Besame Mucho for the BBC Radio program Here We Go on June 11, 1962. This version is available on bootlegs. A live version was recorded on December 25, 1962, at The Star Club in Germany. This is the only available live version. The band again recorded the song more than six years later, at a Get Back session at Apple Studios on January 29, 1969. They performed this and two Buddy Holly songs: Not Fade Away and Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues. This was included in the Let It Be film.
[edit] Recording Sessions
[edit] Personnel (Based on the June 6, 1962 version)
[edit] The Beatles
- Lead Vocals: Paul McCartney
- Bass: Paul McCartney
- Rythm Guitar: John Lennon
- Lead Guitar: George Harrison
- Drums: Pete Best
[edit] Production
- Producer: Ron Richards
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineer: Norman Smith
[edit] Available Versions
- Decca audition, January 1, 1962, (Bootlegs)
- Take Unknown, June 6, 1962, (Anthology 1, Bootlegs)
- Here We Go BBC Radio Recording, June 11, 1962, (Bootlegs)
- Live at The Star Club, December 25, 1962, (Bootlegs)
- Get Back session, January 29, 1969, (Bootlegs)
[edit] Available On
- Anthology 1, 1995.
