Artie Shaw - Besame Mucho (Bésame Besamé)

One of my absolute all time favorite records from my collection of thousands.

My first copy of this I found for 25 cents in a giant bin of 45's. I bought it only because it was a 7" 78RPM record with microgroove pressing. Record fans know that this is a very odd combination of things to have on a record. Later research would show it was from the Bell records corp, who made these records that sold for $0.39 originally. When i got home and spun this record, it blew my mind. I have bought many MANY records in my time, often buying them blind as I did with this one, and had never had my mind blown like did when I heard this.

A friend bought a CD of Artie's with this track, but it was not the same. A different take, a different mix, and a different middle portion (the breakdown part). It has to be THIS track, from Bell Records # 1023-A.

I had this on Youtube before, but it was a video of it on a record player which did no justice to the sound.

This past weekend, I found another copy of this record at a record show for $3.00 that was all but perfect compared to my first, so I did a full MP3 recording of it and wanted to share it here with you all.

I hope you enjoy this song, which I have seen spelled online and on the label as Besame, Bésame, and Besamé Mucho. Regardless, Its the best rendition of this classic song by the most amazing clarinetist of all time, Mr Artie Shaw.