Consuelo Velázquez, composer of one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, died January 22, 2005 at age 88 of complications from a fall, respiratory problems and heart failure.
In 1941, Velázquez oversaw classical music programs for the pioneering Mexican radio station XEQ. At the time, radio was a risqué career for a young woman from a good family, and she worked under a male pseudonym for years.
While at XEQ, Velázquez wrote "Besame Mucho (Kiss Me a Lot)”. First recorded in 1941 by Emilio Tuero, it was inspired by the sight of a smooching couple in the street. It became a pop standard and personal anthem for innumerable couples separated during World War II.
It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century. The song has been translated into dozens of languages and has been recorded by hundreds of artists, including Jimmy Dorsey, Dame Vera Lynn, Mario Lanza, Art Pepper, Artie Shaw, Wes Montgomery, The Coasters, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Frank Sinatra, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Céline Dion, The Mavericks, and Diana Krall.
The song was featured in the 1944 musical “Follow The Boys” and George Stevens’ 1956 classic "Giant" which starred Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean.
Ironically, the song coincided with a dispute in America over higher fees demanded by the performing rights organisation ASCAP. Broadcasters were looking elsewhere for material and a new and rival organisation, BMI, generated an interest in songs from south of the border. "Besame Mucho" was given an English lyric by Sunny Skylar and the first American recording was by Andy Russell.
Velázquez made her film début in the 1938 film “Noches de Carnaval (Carnival Nights)." In 1944, Velázquez visited Hollywood and was offered a screen test for Walt Disney’s film "The Three Caballeros." Instead, she returned to Mexico and married Mariano Rivera Conde, XEQ’s programming manager. Rivera later became a recording executive for RCA Victor, working with such legendary artists as mambo king Perez Prado.
"Besame Mucho" was one of the first songs the Beatles performed at their unsuccessful audition for Decca Records on New Year's Day, 1962. Paul McCartney said “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 melodic influence of "Besame Mucho" can be heard in the McCartney composition "Like Dreamers Do", a hit for the Applejacks in 1964, and the harmonic change can be heard in "I'll Be Back" and "Things We Said Today".
Dominic Pedler, musicologist and author of “The Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles” (2003) adds “It seems fair to say that the parallel key shift of ‘Besame Mucho’ provided the Beatles with a crucial early introduction to one of the most essential musical devices with which they transformed pop songwriting. From as early as "Do You Want to Know a Secret" (E minor intro/ E major verse), through to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (A minor verse/ A major bridge), and on to "Real Love" (E minor intro/ E major verse), this type of emotional shift between dark and light has defined some of their finest music.”
The Spanish TV station Univision named "Besame Mucho" the song of the century. In 2003 a sculpture of Velázquez by the well-known artist Sergio Peraza was unveiled in Mexico City.