Begin The Beguine by Cole Porter

Album: Paris (1935)

License This Song

Songfacts®:

This Cole Porter classic was introduced by June Knight in the Broadway musical Jubilee in 1935, and Artie Shaw's 1938 instrumental version went to #1 and made it famous. In 1956 Ella Fitzgerald released the first of her famous series of Songbooks of great American composers. Cole Porter's songs were the first in the series, and this was among the 35 tracks on the album.
This is played in the Hollywood productions Broadway Melody Of 1940 and Night And Day (1946), a mostly fictional biopic of composer Porter. >>
Suggestion credit:
Doug - West Miami, FL, for above 2
A Beguine is a ballroom dance similar to a rumba. Cole Porter, who invented the word Beguine, also wrote "Let's End The Beguine" for Beatrice Lillie in 1944.
The musical Jubilee was inspired by King George V and Queen Mary's silver anniversary.
Artie Shaw, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Tom Jones and Dionne Warwick have all recorded this.
Cole Porter wrote this while aboard the Franconia ocean liner during a Pacific cruise in 1935.
Sheryl Crow performed this song in the 2004 Cole Porter biopic, De-Lovely, named for the Porter song.
Jazz trumpeter Harry James, who had just struck out on his own when he left Benny Goodman's orchestra, heard a 24-year-old unknown named Frank Sinatra sing this song at a New Jersey roadhouse in 1939. He recruited him as the male vocalist for his new band because he "liked Frank's way of talking a lyric."
On the Friends episode "The One with the Ballroom Dancing" (1997), a portion of the instrumental plays when Joey first attempts to teach Mr. Treeger to dance.

Comments: 7

Paula from New OrleansThis is my dad’s favorite song and now I have an understanding too!!!
Ms Hughes from FloridaThe best rendition of Begin the Begine was sung by Carlos Ramirez.
Jaime from El Paso, TexasJulio Iglesias sings a version of this song. It’s track #2 on his album De niña a mujer. Julio’s song is called Volver a Empezar and it starts when the line “when they begin, the beguine.”
Ellen from SpainThere's a Spanish film called 'Begin the beguine that won an Oscar in 1983 and has this song in its soundtrack.
Donna from Ft. Lauderdale, FlDe-Lovely was only a so-so movie, and that's too bad. But Sheryl Crowe's performance was elegant and timeless - worth watching a clip of this one scene if nothing else.
Jerry from Brooklyn, NyArtie Shaw's instrumental version of this song is one of the greatest recordings ever made. Shaw was a most creative and innovative bandleader but his ego and his hypersensitivy to the vagaries of the music industry was often a hindrance to the true greatness of which he was capable. But get a copy of his version; it is a joy to the ear and the mind!
Joshua from La Crosse, WiR.E.M. had a song called "Begin The Begin" (the opening track from Life's Rich Pageant); that title is presumably a play on this song's title.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)Edison Lighthouse

The love is growing in the '70s hit "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" because rosemary is the name of an herb.

Run Like HellPink Floyd

Pink Floyd's "Run Like Hell" was released as a single in America because it has a catchy beat, but the lyrics describe a reign of terror instigated by the despot Pink, the main character in the concept album The Wall.

Killer QueenQueen

The Queen song "Killer Queen," according to lead singer Freddie Mercury, is about a high-class call girl.

Careless WhisperWham!

George Michael was 17 and on a bus to his job at the cinema when he came up with the idea for "Careless Whisper" and the lyrics, "Something in your eyes calls to mind a silver screen."

Blinded By The LightBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen wrote "Blinded By The Light," which was a #1 hit for Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The "Madman Drummers" line is a reference to Springsteen's first E-Street drummer, Vinnie "Mad dog" Lopez.

When I'm 64The Beatles

In The Beatles' "When I'm 64," Paul McCartney asks a woman if she'll still be there for him when he's 64. In 2006, he got his answer when shortly before his 64th birthday, he and Heather Mills separated.