Begin the Beguine

"Begin the Beguine" is a popular song written by Cole Porter, composed during a 1935 cruise aboard the Franconia from Kalabahi to Fiji. The song was introduced in the Broadway musical Jubilee in October 1935, performed by June Knight at the Imperial Theatre.

The first successful recording was a swing version by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra in 1938. Julio Iglesias released a Spanish language version in 1981, which reached No. 1 on the U.K. chart, the first fully Spanish song to top that chart.