Bésame Mucho (Consuelo Velázquez)

Melanie Scholtz – Vocals

Daniel Shout – Saxophone

Stanislav Angelov – Accordeon

Albert Combrink – Piano

Charles Lazar – Double Bass

Kevin Gibson – Drums

LIVE at the Oude Libertas Amphitheater, Stellenbosch, South Africa from the show “Buona Sera Signorina” 28/11/12 Live Amateur Cellphone Video:

Melanie Scholtz

This song was composed in Spanish in 1940 by the Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez. Born in either 1916 or 1920, depending on which of her autobiographies you chose to believe, she was in her early twenties – and according to herself – had never yet been kissed.

“She was inspired by the piano piece Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruiseñor“from the 1911 suite Goyescas by Spanish composer Enrique Granados, which he later also included as Aria of the Nightingale in his 1916 opera Goyescas. When asked, years later, whose love had inspired the powerful lyrics, she replied that she had written it before she had ever been kissed, and said that the entire song was a “product of imagination”.” [Margalit Fox: New York Times Obituaries, 30 Jan 2005]

“Consuelo Velázquez was born in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, on August 21, 1920, but grew up in Guadalajara. She began playing piano when she was 4, gave her first public recital at age 6, and moved to Mexico City in her teens to attend the National Conservatory and the Palace of Fine Arts. She became a concert pianist and started writing popular songs shortly afterwards, while overseeing classical music programs for the pioneering radio station XEQ.

“Bésame mucho”(Kiss me a lot) was first recorded in 1941 (by Emilio Tuero and Chela Campos) and became a huge Big Band hit during the Second World War. In 1999, the song, the only Mexican song ever to have topped the U.S. hit parade for 12 straight weeks, was declared the “Song of the Century” at a Univisión event in Miami, Florida.

In addition, “Bésame mucho” featured in several movies, including “A toda máquina” (1951), “The moon over Parador” (1988), “Sueños de Arizona” (1993), and “Moskva Slezam ne Verit”, a Russian movie which won the 1980 Oscar for Best Foreign Film”. [Tony Burton: Mexconnect, 14 March 2008]

Lyrics and Translation of Bésame Mucho (Consuelo Velázquez) :

Bésame Mucho – Original Spanish Lyrics by Consuelo Velázquez Bésame Mucho – Rough English Translation by Albert Combrink from the original Spanish by Consuelo Velázquez
Bésame, bésame mucho,
Como si fuera esta noche la última vez.
Bésame, bésame mucho,
Que tengo miedo a tenerte y perderte después.Quiero tenerte muy cerca,
Mirarme en tus ojos, verte junto a mí.
Piensa que tal vez mañana
Yo ya estaré lejos, muy lejos de tí.Bésame, bésame mucho,
Como si fuera esta noche la última vez.
Bésame, bésame mucho,
Que tengo miedo a tenerte y perderte después
Kiss me, kiss me lots
As if this night were the very last time.
Kiss me, kiss me many times
Because I ‘m afraid that I will have you – and then lose you.I want to hold you so very close,
To see myself in your eyes, to see you next to me.
Think that maybe tomorrow
I might be far, far away from you.Kiss me, kiss me lots
As if this night were the very last time.
Kiss me, kiss me many times
Because I ‘m afraid that I will have you – and then lose you.

Download FREE SHEET MUSIC of Bésame Mucho (Consuelo Velázquez) :

Score reproduced by birthpiano.com

Stanislav Angelov (Bandoneon) http://www.goodmusic.co.za
Daniel Shout (Saxophone) http://www.shoutmc.com/Shout_Music_Company/Welcome.html
Albert Combrink (Piano) https://www.albertcombrink.com
Melanie Scholtz (Voice) http://www.melaniescholtz.com/