"Song of India" is a popular song adapted from the aria "Pesni︠a︡ indiĭskogo gosti︠a︡" (Song of the Indian Guest) from Rimsky-Korsakov's 1896 opera Sadko. [1] The melody was also used for the 1918 song " Beautiful Ohio", which became the official song of the U.S. State of Ohio.
In January 1937, Tommy Dorsey recorded an instrumental jazz arrangement featuring Bunny Berigan on trumpet, which became a jazz standard. [2] [3] Coupled with " Marie", the 78 rpm disc ( Victor #25523) was a major hit for Dorsey, containing two of his most enduring recordings on one record, and which helped make him and his band into a household name as a popular music artist in the United States. [4]