Gatica was born in Rancagua in 1928. He and his brother Arturo were struggling singers before they released their first album, in 1949, when Gatica was twenty one years old.

Chileans generally experienced a change in music taste during the 1950s, when bolero music overtook tango as Chileans' preferred music genre for some time. Singers like Cuba's Olga Guillot, and Mexicans Leo Marini and Elvira Rios, among others, were very popular during that time there. So were Xavier Cugat and his orchestra, which included Puerto Rican Bobby Capo. These singers would influence Gatica.

Gatica's first disc, 1951's Me Importas Tu (You Matter to Me) became a mega hit across Latin America, opening many doors for Gatica. He followed that with 1952s Contigo en la Distancia.

Gatica recorded his version of Consuelo Velázquez's Bésame Mucho in 1953, year in which he produced two more albums, Las Muchachas de la Plaza Espana (The Girls from the Spain Square) and Sinceridad (Sincerity).

continued at Wikipedia