Begin the Beguine is a Cole Porter song written in 1935 during a Pacific cruise and introduced on Broadway in Jubilee by June Knight in October 1935. The first big hit was Artie Shaw and His Orchestra in 1938, released as the B-side to Indian Love Call on RCA Victor Bluebird B-7746, with the Shaw and Jerry Gray arrangement - it helped popularize a long swing version of the tune. The beguine itself is a dance form similar to a slow rhumba. The song became a classic through many covers and film appearances, including Broadway Melody of 1940. In 1981 Julio Iglesias released a Spanish version titled Volver a Empezar in the album De niña a mujer, which reached No 1 in the UK - the first fully Spanish language song to top that chart.
