In re the comment above, I meant to say "Khachaturian's SPARTACUS ballet".

I believe the music is :
Song of India
From: Sadko
Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

This was very popular during the 50s - recorded by Mario Lanza, for one.

Paisley, I believe Rozsie is correct. We'll be putting together a list of music from the episodes -- it's not quite ready yet, but when it goes up I'll let you all know. Thanks!

Jackie Kennedy, vapid? Absolutely not. I suppose that type of elegant refinement would seem vacant by today's standards.

Rozsie, A thousand "Thanks" for remembering that Song of India was composed by N.R-K. I thought that 10 or 15 seconds of the show was very piognant yet powerful.

Roszie, "Song of India" is right on the money. Thanks. It added shovels of corn to the moment, as did the Khachaturian segue as well as the Franck.

Jackie Kennedy, vapid? Only if you're looking at her. Please reexamine the video on the various TV's featured on the script. Jackie gives new depth to the "talking head" concept. What's sad is that she is so like Betsy, except not as literate. Would that someone had bapped her upside the head about 3 seconds into the broadcast.

Paisley, I can't remember where I read this (Truman Capote, some of Jackie's Bouvier relatives), but they said in private Jackie didn't talk in that breathy, wispy Marilyn Monroe manner at all. That observation came from a few sources.

Who knows why she did it; to compete with Marilyn Monroe sleeping with her husband? At the time, though, the public didn't even notice or consider it weird. Don't ask me why, I remember watching that tour, too. The public was just enthralled with our young, stylish, beautiful First Lady - and the rest just didn't register.

I loved the way Sal was getting all excited at the broadcast, not for Jackie but for her husband. He was like a little puppy with his tongue hanging out saying, "where's her husband?" I wanted a glimps of that stud muffin JFK.

The song of India:
“Innumerable are jewels in the caves of splendid India
Incalculable are pearls in its gentle seas
There is an enchanted stone in the middle of the warm ocean,
A wondrous Phoenix bird with the face of the handsome maiden sits on it
She sings sweet songs of paradise
And such is the majesty of her feathers that it makes the splendor of the deep pale
He who hears her song forgets all
Innumerable are jewels in the caves
Incalculable are pearls in the gentle seas
Of wondrous India”

The song of India, also known as the song of the Indian ambassador was such an exquisite musical choice it took my breath away! This enchanted melody awakened feelings of mystery and wonders to come. As Betty, Don’s elegant wife comes down from the regal stairway (very important detail), she is no longer a suburban housewife, but a magnificent bird of paradise, which makes men loose their minds.

There are several hundred versions of Song of India (AKA, Song of the Indian Guest). There are too many to go through one-by-one on All Music.

Can AMC please just tell us which performance (i.e. recording/album) was used for the show?

There is obviously a lot of interest -- why wait around and exasperate people? Because I am getting a little exasperated.

The version I remember so well from the 50s and 60s is the vocal by Mario Lanza. Lyrics (by Johnny Mercer)below for anyone interested. I know, some of it is a little corny, but the melody is quite enthralling.

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/s/songofindia.shtml

SONG OF INDIA
(Music: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov / Modern Lyrics: Johnny Mercer)

Mario Lanza

And still the snowy Himalayas rise
In ancient majesty before our eyes,
Beyond the plains, above the pines,
While through the ever, never changing land
As silently as any native band
That moves at night, the Ganges Shines

Then I hear the song that only India can sing,
Softer than the plumage on a black raven's wing;
High upon a minaret I stand
Upon an old enchanted land,
There's the Maharajah's caravan,
Unfolding like a painted fan,
How small the little race of Man!

See them all parade across the ages,
Armies, Kings and slaves from hist'ry's pages,
Played on one of nature's vastest stages.
The turbaned Sikhs and fakirs line the streets,
While holy men in shadowed calm retreats
Pray through the night and watch the stars,
A lonely plane flies off to meet the dawn,
While down below the busy life goes on,
And women crowd the old bazaars;

All are in the song that only India can sing,
Softer than the plumage on a black raven's wing;
Tune the ageless moon and stars were strung by,
Timeless song that only could be sung by
India, the jewel of the East.

(Contributed by Bill Huntley - November 2005
Source: Our Huckleberry Friend by Bob Bach & Ginger Mercer)

Please, please, please Mad Men, tell us the recording of Song of India that was used for the scene where Betsy comes down the staircase, and for the closing credits. I'm obsessed and need to get my hands on this recording! I've been searching the internet and nothing is as great as this specific recording. PLEASE!