The melodic themes which form the basis of "Malagueña" were not of Ernesto Lecuona's invention, having been prominent in Spanish folk songs named "malagueñas" for several centuries, though at least one was popularised internationally by 19th-century American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk in his solo piano composition Souvenirs d'Andalousie (English: Memories of Andalusia).
On the island of Fuerteventura the malagueña de los novios (English: of the bride and groom) is played at weddings in honour of the nuptials, and is much more elegant.
[citation needed] An acoustic instrumental demo of "Malagueña" was performed by Ritchie Valens and recorded in early 1959 at his manager Bob Keane's home studio.
Other artists as varied as Chet Atkins, Count Basie, Roy Clark, Ray Conniff, Xavier Cugat, Esquivel, Connie Francis, Ted Heath and Chico O'Farrill have also performed the piece.
American guitarist Roy Clark recorded an instrumental version of "Malagueña" and also performed the song in an episode of the US television show The Odd Couple.
The piece has become a favorite in the sport of figure skating, used notably by US pair skaters, Gillian Wachsman and Todd Waggoner in their 1988 season long program.
[7] Pair figure skaters Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii also used the piece as their free program music for the 2021-2022 Olympic season.
The melody from bar 70 of the original "Malagueña" piano arrangement by Lecuona appears as a guitar solo in the opening lines of Shirley Bassey's 1967 version of "If You Go Away" from her album And We Were Lovers.
A non-jazz arrangement was played by another top drum and bugle corps in 1988, the Velvet Knights of Anaheim, California, which has continued to be a fan favorite.