"Begin the Beguine"

"Begin the Beguine"
Name	Begin the Beguine
Artist	Cole Porter
Written	1935
Published	1935
Composer	Cole Porter
Lyricist	Cole Porter

"Begin the Beguine"

"Begin the Beguine" is a popular song written by Cole Porter in 1935. The song was introduced in the Broadway musical Jubilee and became one of Porter's best-known compositions through recordings by artists across genres, influencing performers associated with Tin Pan Alley, Great American Songbook, and Broadway theatre. The piece achieved renewed popularity in the mid-20th century via interpretations by orchestras and soloists linked to swing music, big band, and Latin jazz traditions.

Background and Composition

Cole Porter composed the song for the 1935 revue Jubilee, which starred Fred Astaire and Irene Castle alongside a cast drawn from the Ziegfeld Follies tradition. The title references the beguine dance form from Martinique and Guadeloupe, drawing on Caribbean rhythms that interested American composers such as George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and contemporaries in the Harlem Renaissance era. Porter crafted an extended 108-bar refrain that departed from the then-standard 32-bar popular-song form popularized by composers like Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, and Lorenz Hart. The lyric's cosmopolitan imagery evokes cities and salons associated with performers such as Ethel Merman and impresarios like Florenz Ziegfeld, while its harmonic language aligns with innovations attributed to Duke Ellington and arrangers working for Benny Goodman.

Early Recordings and Chart Performance

Early commercial renditions were recorded by dance bands and vocal groups tied to Victor Records, Columbia Records, and Decca Records, including sessions by orchestras led by Guy Lombardo, Henry Hall, and Benny Goodman Orchestra. The song's first chart success in the United States and the United Kingdom came amid the popularity of radio broadcasting and programs such as Your Hit Parade and BBC Radio. In 1938 and 1939, versions issued on 78 rpm discs by labels competing with RCA Victor and EMI brought the song onto hit parades managed by publishers like ASCAP and BMI. The composition later charted again following a landmark instrumental hit in the 1950s, competing on lists maintained by publications including Billboard and Cash Box.

Notable Covers and Adaptations

Notable instrumental adaptations include an acclaimed big-band arrangement by Artie Shaw and a widely influential Latin-tinged recording by Xavier Cugat that linked the tune to dance halls frequented by patrons of venues associated with Mambo and Son Cubano. In the late 1950s, a jazz-oriented interpretation by Stan Kenton and a pop vocal reworking by Frank Sinatra—who recorded many standards with arrangers such as Nelson Riddle—further extended the song's reach. A blockbuster revival came with the 1959 instrumental by Artie Shaw's successors and a chart-topping version by Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson in European cabaret circuits; other artists who recorded the piece include Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Vic Damone, Louis Armstrong, Perry Como, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Count Basie, and Nat King Cole. International adaptations have been produced by ensembles linked to Tito Puente, Perez Prado, and Herb Alpert, while reinterpretations by contemporary artists such as Sting, Diana Krall, and Michael Bublé illustrate the song's endurance in crossover repertoires.

Cultural Impact and Legacy

The song's revival and continued presence in setlists cemented Porter's reputation alongside peers like Cole Porter's contemporaries Jerome Kern and George Gershwin as shaping the Great American Songbook. Its association with ballroom and social dances connected it to cultural phenomena including the Swing Era, the Big Band Era, and mid-century nightclub scenes centered on clubs like the Copacabana and The Palladium. Musicologists have cited the song when discussing 20th-century American popular music in texts alongside works about Tin Pan Alley and analyses of composers such as Irving Berlin. Preserved in archives at institutions like the Library of Congress and featured in retrospectives at venues such as the New York City Center, the piece appears on lists of essential standards compiled by organizations including the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Musical Structure and Lyrics

Musically, the composition is notable for its extended thirty-two plus phrasing that defies conventional 32-bar AABA formats favored by Jerome Kern and George Gershwin. The harmonic progression employs chromatic sequences and secondary dominants reminiscent of arrangements used by Duke Ellington and Count Basie band charts, while melodic contours recall Porter's work for productions starring performers such as Fred Astaire and Ethel Merman. Lyrically, Porter uses cosmopolitan references and conversational storytelling akin to his other songs in shows associated with Broadway theatre and composers represented by Music Publishers of the era; singers often adapt phrasing to suit arrangements by conductors like Billy May and Gordon Jenkins.

Use in Film, Television, and Media

The song has been licensed for numerous films and television programs, appearing in soundtracks alongside works featured in films such as The Great Gatsby-era pastiches and in television series depicting mid-century nightlife on networks like NBC and CBS. It has been used in documentaries about figures like Cole Porter and performances archived by institutions such as the Paley Center for Media. Advertising campaigns and compilation albums issued by labels including Capitol Records and Columbia Records have further maintained the song's visibility, while stage revivals of Jubilee and cabaret tributes to Cole Porter frequently feature the piece performed by artists connected to venues such as Carnegie Hall and Royal Albert Hall.

Category:Songs written by Cole Porter Category:1935 songs