"Inolvidable" ("Unforgettable") is a song written by Julio Gutiérrez in 1944. It is considered one of the most popular

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

s released during the Cuban musical movement led by pianists. The song has been recorded by several performers, including

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his care ...

, Diego El Cigala,

Fania All-Stars The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time. History Beginnings In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, ...

Eydie Gormé Eydie Gormé ( ; born Edith Gormezano; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who had hits on the pop and Latin pop charts. She sang solo and in the duo Steve and Eydie with her husband, Steve Lawrence, on albums and telev ...

Danny Rivera Danny Rivera (born 27 February 1945) is a singer and songwriter born in San Juan whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is well known in Puerto Rico for his political activism. In 2008, Rivera acquired Dominican Republic citizenship. After 12 y ...

Tito Rodríguez Pablo Rodríguez Lozada (January 4, 1923 – February 28, 1973), better known as Tito Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He started his career singing under the tutelage of his brother, Johnny Rodríguez. In the 1940s, both m ...

and

Bebo Valdés Dionisio Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro (October 9, 1918 – March 22, 2013), better known as Bebo Valdés, was a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, especially due to his big b ...

, among others. In the song, the protagonist kisses different lips looking for new sensations, haunted by the memory of a past love. The song has experienced popular acclaim, especially with the version recorded by Mexican singer

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...

on his album ''

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

'' released in 1991. This version peaked at the top of the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Songs chart in the United States, and the album was deemed responsible for reviving the bolero genre.

Background and composition

"Inolvidable" was written by Cuban pianist Julio Gutiérrez. Gutiérrez was born in

Manzanillo, Cuba Manzanillo is a municipality and city in the Granma Province of Cuba. By population, it is the 14th-largest Cuban city and the most populated one not being a provincial seat. Geography It is a port city in the Granma Province in eastern Cuba on t ...

, and at age six he played piano and at 14 he directed his own orchestra. In 1940, the Orchestra Casino de la Playa toured eastern Cuba, and on that tour

Miguelito Valdés Miguelito Valdés (September 6, 1912 – November 9, 1978), also known as Mr. Babalú, was a renowned Cuban singer. His performances were characterized by a strong voice and a particular sense of ''cubanismo''. Life Miguelito Valdés was born ...

met Gutiérrez and suggested he should go to the capital (

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

), where better opportunities would arise. Months later, Gutiérrez moved to the capital, and was hired as a pianist in the orchestra Casino de la Playa. "Inolvidable", written in 1944,

'' (Liner Notes)

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

(1991) was released during the Cuban musical movement led by

pianists A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

, in which Gutiérrez participated. Two songs composed by Gutiérrez, "Inolvidable" and "Llanto de Luna" ("Crying Moon"), were highly successful boleros in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. In 1992, a compilation album including an instrumental version of the song performed by Gutiérrez was released. Musically "Inolvidable" is a

. According to Rodrigo Bazán, in his book ''Y Si Vivo Cien Años... Antología del Bolero en México'', the song was not different from others that were released at the time about unhappy love, but differed from other popular genres that based their lyrics on the lack of love such as

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

. With the song, Julio Gutiérrez joined the list of prominent ''boleristas'' in Cuba. Lyrically, the song presents the protagonist kissing different lips and looking for new sensations ("''He besado otras bocas buscando nuevas ansiedades''").

Performers

In 1963,

recorded "Inolvidable" on his album ''From Tito Rodríguez with Love''. The song became very successful, selling one-and-a-half million units. Musical ensemble

released their first studio album ''Tribute to Tito Rodríguez'' in 1976 and included a cover version of "Inolvidable". The album was originally intended to feature the group in a supporting role for Rodríguez, but resulted in a tribute album after the singer died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

in early 1973. Brazilian singer-songwriter

included his version of the song on the album ''Quero Que Vá Tudo Pro Inferno'' in 1975. Puerto-Rican

recorded a tribute album titled ''Inolvidable Tito: A Mi Me Pasa lo Mismo Que a Usted'', including a version of "Inolvidable".

''Inolvidable Tito: A Mi Me Pasa lo Mismo Que a Usted'' (Liner Notes) DNA (1986) The album received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for

Best Latin Pop Performance The Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the Latin pop genre. Honors i ...

. In 1988, American singer

had her version of the track on the album ''De Corazón a Corazón''. Cuban pianist

and Spanish flamenco performer Diego El Cigala recorded the track for their collaborative album '' Lágrimas Negras''. The album was produced in 2003 by Academy Award winner

Fernando Trueba Fernando Rodríguez Trueba (born 18 January 1955), known as Fernando Trueba, is a Spanish book editor, screenwriter, film director and producer. Between 1974 and 1979, he worked as a film critic for Spain's leading daily newspaper '' El País' ...

, sold 200,000 units in Spain and won the

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

for Best Traditional Tropical Album.

Paloma San Basilio Paloma Cecilia San Basilio Martínez (born November 22, 1950), known as Paloma San Basilio (), is a Spanish singer, songwriter, producer and actress. She was awarded with a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to Latin musi ...

recorded "Inolvidable" on her album ''Invierno Sur'' released in January 2007.

Luis Miguel version

Mexican singer

released the 1991 album ''

'', which was produced by Miguel and Mexican singer-songwriter

Armando Manzanero Armando Manzanero Canché (7 December 1935 – 28 December 2020) was a Mexican Maya peoples, Mayan musician, singer, composer, actor and music producer, widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era and one of the ...

, and included a selection of classic boleros. The success of the album revived the interest for bolero, even though the new musical arrangements of the songs make them unrecognizable. ''Romance'' received a

nomination for

Best Latin Pop Album The Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the Latin pop genre. Honors in ...

(which it lost to

Jon Secada Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American singer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. His music fus ...

's ''

Otro Día Más Sin Verte ''Otro Día Más Sin Verte'' ( en, Another Day Without Seeing You), also called ''Sentir'' ( en, Feel) in Spain, is the Spanish-language debut album by Cuban American, Cuban singer Jon Secada. It was released on October 6, 1992 by EMI Latin to ...

''), was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

and sold seven million copies worldwide. The first single taken from the album was "Inolvidable", a version that according to Carlos Monsiváis in his book ''Los Rituales del Caos'', guarantees "the adoption of the past, and that the romantic sensibility is not dead." The track debuted in the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Songs chart (formerly Hot Latin Tracks) at number 30 in the week of November 23, 1991, climbing to the top ten three weeks later. "Inolvidable" peaked at number one on January 25, 1992, spending five weeks at the top of the chart. The song was number three on the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Songs Year-End Chart of 1992. In Mexico, the song and the following single ("No Sé Tú") remained in the top of the charts for six months altogether. Miguel's cover was recognized as one of the award-winning songs at the 1994 BMI Latin awards. Elsewhere in Latin America, "Inolvidable" topped the charts in Colombia; and reached the top-ten in Chile, El Salvador, Panama, Peru and Puerto Rico. A live version of "Inolvidable" was included on the EP ''

América & En Vivo ''América & en Vivo'' is a live extended play (EP) by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. It was released on 25 September 1992 by WEA Latina. The EP consists of three live versions of " Inolvidable", No Sé Tú", and " Contigo en la Distancia" from hi ...

'' in 1992 and as a part of a medley with the rest of the singles taken from ''Romance'' on the live album '' Vivo'' (2000). The track was also added to the compilation album '' Grandes Éxitos'' in 2005.

Format and track listing

Mexican Promo CD Single #"Inolvidable" – 4:19

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the "Inolvidable" liner notes. * Luis Miguel – co-production,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Julio Gutiérrez –

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

* Armando Manzanero – production *

Bebu Silvetti Juan Fernando Silvetti Adorno (27 March 1944 – 5 July 2003), professionally known as Bebu Silvetti or simply Silvetti, was an Argentine- born Mexican pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, and record producer. In the 1970s he moved to M ...

– co-production,

arranging In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

Weekly charts

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{authority control 1944 songs 1991 singles Cuban songs Luis Miguel songs Roberto Carlos (singer) songs Song recordings produced by Luis Miguel Spanish-language songs Boleros Warner Music Latina singles