“I miss you”: the complicated relationship between Luis Miguel and his star composer, Armando Manzanero

Luis Miguel He is one of the most prolific Latin American singers of recent times. The flow of his voice captivated millions of viewers over the years. In addition, His career evolved over time..

In 1990, “Luismi” turned 20 and released an album in honor of that milestone. songs like “Could it be that you don’t love me (Blame It On The Boogie)” and “I have everything except you” They consolidated him as the biggest Mexican star of the time. However, Sol de México felt that he had matured enough to turn from the catchy pop that he had been preaching towards another genre.

The pressure from his record label, WEA Latinait was the ideal moment to make a change and dedicate himself to creating an album dedicated to the regional music of his country. And what was resonating with people at that time was the bolerocoming from Cuba but expanded throughout Latin America. With the impossibility of having Juan Carlos CalderonLuis Miguel summoned one of the most important composers in Mexican history: Armando Manzanero.

“I miss you”, an anthem of heartbreak that reached the ears of Frank Sinatra

So it was that in just two months, the album “Romance” It was recorded in its entirety and came out in November 1991. In this way, a new and fruitful stage in Luis Miguel’s career began.

For his part, Manzanero agreed for a reason, and that is that The young singer could bring young audiences closer to this genre forgotten in the 90s. The composer grabbed a list of 500 songs composed between 1944 and 1986, which he reduced to 12 songs for this installment.

“Romance” included two songs of his authorship: “No se tú” and “I miss you”the latter being one of the most successful on the album. However, This work was composed by Manzanero in 1969, and responded to the painful loss of a love. With a melody and lyrics full of sadness and melancholy, the Mexican writer recounted the rejection of a woman, who is believed to be the actress Angelica Maria.

Although the song was performed by names like Plácido Domingo and Andrea Bocelli, it was Luis Miguel who took it to its highest point, turning it into an anthem of heartbreak for subsequent generations.

And on top of that it has a special tint, since when the Sun of Mexico met Frank Sinatrathe historic voice of jazz asked him to sing a song to demonstrate his talent. The choice for “Luismi” was “I miss you”, which showed the affection he had for that song.

Luis Miguel’s romantic stage continued for many years; released “Segundo Romance” and “Romántico desde siempre” in 1994, “Romances” in 1997 and “Mis Romances” in 2001. However, the passage of time gave rise to friction between the prodigious Mexican voice and the talented composer, who if They admired each other, but many times they couldn’t stand each other.

“What can you expect from him? He went crazy. There are people who don’t know gratitude. I don’t want to talk about him, but I think what a shame.”expressed Manzanero after Luis Miguel canceled a tour with Alejandro Fernández. In any case, the relationship lasted until Manzanero’s death on December 28, 2020.