American Popular Song 6

Begin the Beguine by Cole Porter is a difficult song to sing with accompaniment. Without it would be next to impossible. Except for Sammy Davis Jr. It’s not exactly acapella because it does have a drum accompaniment, but of course that wouldn’t give him any clue as to the tune. Yet, this extraordinarily talented man sang it perfectly. 

Porter wrote the song in 1935 and it was introduced by June Knight in the Broadway show Jubilee. Probably the most famous version was recorded by Artie Shaw and his orchestra in 1938. Other great singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald also had hits with it. 

So, what is a beguine? It’s a music and dance form like a slow rumba. Alec Wilder talks about Porter’s version in his book American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900 – 1950 (see my post of October 13) saying “a maverick, an unprecedented experiment and one which, to this day, after hearing it hundreds of times, I cannot sing or whistle or play from start to finish without the printed music.” But Sammy Davis Jr did and here he is singing Begin the Beguine from his album Sammy Davis Jr Sings “What Kind of Fool Am I” and Other Show Stoppers. Enjoy!