Mack the Knife
Encyclopedia
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill
with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English
, The Threepenny Opera
. It premiered in Berlin
in 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm
. The song has become a popular standard
.
(from mori meaning "deadly" and tat meaning "deed") is a medieval
version of the murder ballad
performed by strolling minstrel
s. In The Threepenny Opera, the moritat singer with his street organ introduces and closes the drama with the tale of the deadly Mackie Messer, or Mack the Knife, a character based on the dashing highwayman
Macheath
in John Gay
's The Beggar's Opera
(who was in turn based on the historical thief Jack Sheppard
). The Brecht-Weill version of the character was far more cruel and sinister, and has been transformed into a modern anti-hero
.
The play opens with the moritat singer comparing Macheath (unfavorably) with a shark
, and then telling tales of his robberies
, murder
s, rape
s, and arson
.
, who created the role of Macheath, wished a more effective introduction of his character. The original German text begins as follows:
At the 1928 première, the Moritat was sung by Kurt Gerron
, who was a noted film and stage actor in Germany, and who also played the part of the Police Chief Brown. Weill also intended for the Moritat to be accompanied by a barrel organ
, which was to be played by the singer.
by Louis Armstrong
in 1956, but the song is most closely associated with Bobby Darin
, who recorded his version at Fulton Studios on West 40th Street, New York City
, on December 19, 1958 (with Tom Dowd
engineering the recording). In 1959 Darin's version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100
and number six on the Black Singles chart, and earned him a Grammy Award for Record of the Year
. Dick Clark had advised Darin not to record the song because of the perception that, having come from an opera, it wouldn't appeal to the rock & roll
audience. To this day, Clark recounts the story with good humor. Frank Sinatra
, who recorded the song with Jimmy Buffett
, called Darin's the "definitive" version. Darin's version hit #3 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. In 2003, the Darin version was ranked #251 on Rolling Stone
s "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
" list. On BBC Radio 4
's Desert Island Discs
, pop mogul Simon Cowell
named "Mack the Knife" the best song ever written.
Brecht's original German language version was appropriated for a series of humorous and surreal blackout skits by television pioneer Ernie Kovacs
, showing, between skits, the vibrating soundtrack line.
Ella Fitzgerald
made a famous live recording in 1960 (released on Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife
) in which, after forgetting the lyrics after the first verse, she improvised new lyrics in a performance that earned her a Grammy Award
. Robbie Williams
also recorded the song on his 2001 album Swing When You're Winning
. Other notable versions include performances by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
, Tony Bennett
, Marianne Faithfull
, Nick Cave
, Brian Setzer
, Kevin Spacey
, Westlife
, and Michael Bublé
. Swiss
band The Young Gods
radically reworked the song in industrial
style, while jazz
legend Sonny Rollins
recorded an instrumental version entitled simply "Moritat" in 1956. A 1959 instrumental performance by Bill Haley & His Comets
was the final song the group recorded for Decca Records
. Tito Puente
also recorded an instrumental version. Salsa musician Rubén Blades
recorded an homage entitled "Pedro Navaja
". Brazilian composer Chico Buarque
, in his adaptation of Threepenny Opera (Ópera do Malandro), made two versions called "A Volta do Malandro" and "O Malandro
No. 2", with lyrics in Portuguese
.
The song has been parodied many times. Steve Martin
parodied "Mack the Knife" in his opening monologue to the premiere of Saturday Night Live
's third season in 1977. In the mid-1980s, McDonald's
introduced Mac Tonight
, a character whose signature song was based on "Mack the Knife." American political parodists
the Capitol Steps
used the tune for their song "Pack the Knife" on their 2002 album When Bush Comes to Shove.
The chorus to the song "Haifisch" by Rammstein
is inspired by "Mack the Knife".
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
. It premiered in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm
Theater am Schiffbauerdamm
The Theater am Schiffbauerdamm is a theatre building at the Schiffbauerdamm riverside in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, opened on November 19, 1892. Since 1954 it is home to the Berliner Ensemble theatre company, founded in 1949 by Helene Weigel and Bertolt Brecht.The original name of the...
. The song has become a popular standard
Standard (music)
In music, a standard is a tune or song of established popularity.-See also:* Blues standard* Jazz standard* Pop standard* Great American Songbook-Further reading:* Greatest Rock Standards, published by Hal Leonard ISBN 0793588391...
.
The Threepenny Opera
A moritatCantastoria
Cantastoria comes from Italian for "sung story" or "singing history" and is known by many other names around the world. It is a theatrical form where a performer tells or sings a story while gesturing to a series of images...
(from mori meaning "deadly" and tat meaning "deed") is a medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
version of the murder ballad
Murder ballad
Murder ballads are a sub-genre of the traditional ballad form, the lyrics of which form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath...
performed by strolling minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
s. In The Threepenny Opera, the moritat singer with his street organ introduces and closes the drama with the tale of the deadly Mackie Messer, or Mack the Knife, a character based on the dashing highwayman
Highwayman
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
Macheath
Captain Macheath
Captain Macheath is a fictional character who appears both in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, its sequel Polly and roughly 200 years later in Bertolt Brecht's ;;The Threepenny Opera.- Origins :...
in John Gay
John Gay
John Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch...
's The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
(who was in turn based on the historical thief Jack Sheppard
Jack Sheppard
Jack Sheppard was a notorious English robber, burglar and thief of early 18th-century London. Born into a poor family, he was apprenticed as a carpenter but took to theft and burglary in 1723, with little more than a year of his training to complete...
). The Brecht-Weill version of the character was far more cruel and sinister, and has been transformed into a modern anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
.
The play opens with the moritat singer comparing Macheath (unfavorably) with a shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
, and then telling tales of his robberies
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
s, and arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
.
Original German text
The song was inserted in the play shortly before its première in 1928, because Harald PaulsenHarald Paulsen
Harald Paulsen was a German actor. He appeared in 125 films between 1920 and 1954.He was born in Elmshorn, Germany and died in Hamburg.-Selected filmography:* Desires * Die Tödlichen Träume...
, who created the role of Macheath, wished a more effective introduction of his character. The original German text begins as follows:
| German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... |
Literal English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... translation |
|---|---|
|
|
At the 1928 première, the Moritat was sung by Kurt Gerron
Kurt Gerron
Kurt Gerron was a German Jewish actor and film director.-Life:Born Kurt Gerson into a well-off merchant family in Berlin, he initially studied medicine but was called up for military service in World War I. Seriously wounded he qualified as a military doctor of the German Army...
, who was a noted film and stage actor in Germany, and who also played the part of the Police Chief Brown. Weill also intended for the Moritat to be accompanied by a barrel organ
Barrel organ
A barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...
, which was to be played by the singer.
1954 Blitzstein translation
"Mack the Knife" was introduced to the United States hit paradeHit parade
A hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined by sales and/or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936...
by Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
in 1956, but the song is most closely associated with Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, who recorded his version at Fulton Studios on West 40th Street, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, on December 19, 1958 (with Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
engineering the recording). In 1959 Darin's version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and number six on the Black Singles chart, and earned him a Grammy Award for Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
. Dick Clark had advised Darin not to record the song because of the perception that, having come from an opera, it wouldn't appeal to the rock & roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
audience. To this day, Clark recounts the story with good humor. Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, who recorded the song with Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
, called Darin's the "definitive" version. Darin's version hit #3 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. In 2003, the Darin version was ranked #251 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"....
" list. On BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
, pop mogul Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
named "Mack the Knife" the best song ever written.
Brecht's original German language version was appropriated for a series of humorous and surreal blackout skits by television pioneer Ernie Kovacs
Ernie Kovacs
Ernie Kovacs was a Hungarian American comedian and actor.Kovacs' uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident...
, showing, between skits, the vibrating soundtrack line.
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
made a famous live recording in 1960 (released on Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife
Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife
Ella in Berlin is a live album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. This album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical...
) in which, after forgetting the lyrics after the first verse, she improvised new lyrics in a performance that earned her a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
also recorded the song on his 2001 album Swing When You're Winning
Swing When You're Winning
Swing When You're Winning is a swing cover album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams.-Background:After the success of his third studio album, Sing When You're Winning, Williams wanted to take another musical direction...
. Other notable versions include performances by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Jimmie Dale Gilmore is a country singer, songwriter, actor, recording artist and producer, currently living in Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
, Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
, Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...
, Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
, Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
, and Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
. Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
band The Young Gods
The Young Gods
The Young Gods are a Swiss post-industrial band. The band's lineup has generally consisted of a vocalist, a sampler operator and a drummer. Their instrumentation often includes sampled electric guitars, drums, keyboards, and other samples. The lyrics are depicted in English, French and...
radically reworked the song in industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
style, while jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
legend Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
recorded an instrumental version entitled simply "Moritat" in 1956. A 1959 instrumental performance by Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...
was the final song the group recorded for Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
also recorded an instrumental version. Salsa musician Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres...
recorded an homage entitled "Pedro Navaja
Pedro Navaja
Pedro Navaja is a salsa song written and performed by Rubén Blades from the 1978 album Siembra, about a criminal of the same name. "Navaja" means knife or razor in Spanish. Inspired by the song Mack the Knife, it tells the story of a panderer's life and his presumed death...
". Brazilian composer Chico Buarque
Chico Buarque
Francisco Buarque de Hollanda , popularly known as Chico Buarque , is a singer, guitarist, composer, dramatist, writer and poet...
, in his adaptation of Threepenny Opera (Ópera do Malandro), made two versions called "A Volta do Malandro" and "O Malandro
Malandragem
Malandragem is a Brazilian Portuguese term for a lifestyle of idleness, fast living and petty crime - traditionally celebrated in samba lyrics, especially those of Noel Rosa. The exponent of this lifestyle, the malandro , or "bad boy" , has become significant to Brazilian national identity as a...
No. 2", with lyrics in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
The song has been parodied many times. Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
parodied "Mack the Knife" in his opening monologue to the premiere of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
's third season in 1977. In the mid-1980s, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
introduced Mac Tonight
Mac Tonight
Mac Tonight was a mascot introduced by McDonald's restaurants in 1986. He was intended to advertise McDonald's late night hours to adults. He had a crescent moon for a head, wore a suit and sunglasses, and was depicted as being a jazzy lounge singer. The name was a play on words of the song "Mack...
, a character whose signature song was based on "Mack the Knife." American political parodists
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
the Capitol Steps
Capitol Steps
The Capitol Steps are an American political satire group. It has been performing since 1981, and has released approximately thirty albums consisting primarily of song parodies. Originally consisting exclusively of Congressional staffers performing around Washington, D.C., the troupe now primarily...
used the tune for their song "Pack the Knife" on their 2002 album When Bush Comes to Shove.
The chorus to the song "Haifisch" by Rammstein
Rammstein
Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...
is inspired by "Mack the Knife".
Selective list of recorded versions
- 1928/29 Bertolt BrechtBertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
- 1954 Gerald Price, Broadway cast recording of The Threepenny Opera
- 1955 Lotte LenyaLotte LenyaLotte Lenya was an Austrian singer, diseuse, and actress. In the German-speaking and classical music world she is best remembered for her performances of the songs of her husband, Kurt Weill. In English-language film she is remembered for her Academy Award-nominated role in The Roman Spring of Mrs...
on the album Lotte Lenya Sings Berlin Theatre Songs of Kurt Weill - 1956 Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
#20 hit singleHit singleA hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
- Dick HymanDick HymanRichard “Dick” Hyman is an American jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer, best-known for his versatility with jazz piano styles. Over a 50 year career, he has functioned as pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and, increasingly, as composer...
, instrumental - Billy VaughnBilly VaughnRichard "Billy" Vaughn was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, orchestra leader, and A&R man for Dot Records....
, instrumental - Sonny RollinsSonny RollinsTheodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, jazz instrumental, on the album Saxophone ColossusSaxophone ColossusSaxophone Colossus is one of Sonny Rollins' most acclaimed albums. Recorded and released in 1956, it has been awarded a rare Crown by The Penguin Guide to Jazz, and is widely considered the masterpiece of his mid-1950s series of recordings for Prestige Records and one of the greatest albums ever...
- Dick Hyman
- 1957 Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
with Bob ScobeyBob ScobeyBob Scobey was an American jazz musician born in Tucumcari, New Mexico.He began his career playing in dance orchestras and nightclubs in the 1930s. In 1938 he worked as second trumpeter for Lu Watters in the Yerba Buena Jazz Band. By 1949 he was leading his own band under the name Bob Scobey's...
on the album Bing with a BeatBing With A BeatBing With A Beat was Bing Crosby's seventh long play album, but his first recorded with RCA Victor.Bing With A Beat is a 1957 concept album where all the songs feature "hot" jazz and dixieland arrangements by Matty Matlock, played by Bob Scobey's Frisco Jazz Band... - 1958 Wolfgang Neuss with the Sender Freies BerlinSender Freies BerlinSender Freies Berlin was the ARD public radio and television service for West Berlin from 1 June 1954 until 1990 and for Berlin as a whole from German reunification until 30 April 2003...
Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Wilhem Brückner Rüggenburg (supervised and performed by Lotte LenyaLotte LenyaLotte Lenya was an Austrian singer, diseuse, and actress. In the German-speaking and classical music world she is best remembered for her performances of the songs of her husband, Kurt Weill. In English-language film she is remembered for her Academy Award-nominated role in The Roman Spring of Mrs...
) on the album Die Dreigroschenoper (CBS) - 1959 Bobby DarinBobby DarinBobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, U.S. and UK #1- Bill Haley & His CometsBill Haley & His CometsBill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...
on the album Strictly Instrumental - Kenny DorhamKenny DorhamMcKinley Howard Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did...
on the album Quiet Kenny
- Bill Haley & His Comets
- 1960 Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
on the album Ella in Berlin: Mack the KnifeElla in Berlin: Mack the KnifeElla in Berlin is a live album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. This album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical... - 1963 Eartha KittEartha KittEartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...
as a single - 1964 Miloš KopeckýMiloš KopeckýMiloš Kopecký was a Czech actor, active mainly in the second half of the 20th century.- Biography :...
in Czech musical Lemonade JoeLemonade JoeLemonade Joe , is a 1964 Czechoslovak comedy film, directed by Oldřich Lipský and written by Jiří Brdečka, based on his own novel and theatre play. The film, a parody of old-time westerns, became a cult classic in Czechoslovakia, and apparently Henry Fonda was amongst its foreign admirers...
(Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera)- Dave Van RonkDave Van RonkDave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
on the albums Dave Van Ronk and the Ragtime Jug StompersDave Van Ronk and the Ragtime Jug StompersDave Van Ronk and the Ragtime Jug Stompers is an album featuring Dave Van Ronk playing with a jug band.-History:From The Mayor of MacDougal Street: "As for the jug band, that came about more or less by accident...
, in 1967 on Live at Sir George Williams UniversityLive at Sir George Williams UniversityLive at Sir George Williams University is a live album by Dave Van Ronk, released in 1997. This recording was done live at a festival appearance during Expo '67 in 1967, at Sir George Williams University, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada-Reception:...
, and in 1992 on Let No One Deceive YouLet No One Deceive YouLet No One Deceive You: Songs of Bertolt Brecht is an album by American folk and blues singer Dave Van Ronk and vocalist Frankie Armstrong, released in 1992...
- Dave Van Ronk
- 1965 Ben WebsterBen WebsterBenjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...
on the album Stormy Weather - 1968 The DoorsThe DoorsThe Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
on the album Live In Stockholm - 1977 Peggy LeePeggy LeePeggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
on the album Live in London - 1981 The Psychedelic Furs on the B-side of the single "Pretty in PinkPretty in Pink (song)"Pretty in Pink" is a song by the English rock band The Psychedelic Furs, originally released in 1981 as a single from the band's second album, Talk Talk Talk...
", the 1994 album Here Came The Psychedelic Furs: B Sides and Lost Grooves, and the 2002 re-release of their self-titled first albumThe Psychedelic Furs (album)The Psychedelic Furs is the debut album by the English rock band The Psychedelic Furs. It was released in 1980 on Columbia Records. It was reissued with bonus tracks in 2002 by Columbia/Legacy.... - 1984 Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
on the album L.A. Is My LadyL.A. Is My LadyL.A. Is My Lady is a 1984 studio album by Frank Sinatra, featuring arrangements by Quincy Jones. It was the last solo album that Sinatra recorded, though Sinatra recorded three further songs, which were unreleased until The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings.The album came after an album of duets... - 1985 Sting on the album Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt WeillLost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt WeillLost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill is a 1985 tribute album to German-American composer Kurt Weill. It was executive-produced by Hal Willner and John Telfer, and produced by Hal Willner and Paul M...
- 1986 Dagmar KrauseDagmar KrauseDagmar Krause is a German singer, best known for her work with avant-rock groups like Slapp Happy, Henry Cow and Art Bears. She is also noted for her coverage of songs by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler...
on the album Supply and DemandSupply and Demand (Dagmar Krause album)Supply and Demand: Songs by Brecht / Weill & Eisler is the first solo album by German singer Dagmar Krause released by Hannibal Records in 1986. It is a collection of 16 songs by German composers Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht and sung by Krause in English... - 1988 Ute LemperUte LemperUte Lemper is a German chanteuse and actress renowned for her interpretation of the work of Kurt Weill.- Biography :Born in Münster, Germany, Ute Lemper was raised in a Roman Catholic family. She joined the punk music group known as the Panama Drive Band at the age of 16...
on the album Ute Lemper sings Kurt Weill - 1990 Roger DaltreyRoger DaltreyRoger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
on the film soundtrack Mack the Knife- Kenny GarrettKenny GarrettKenny Garrett is a Grammy Award-winning American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist who gained fame in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and of Miles Davis's band. He has since pursued a critically acclaimed solo career...
on the album African Exchange Student
- Kenny Garrett
- 1994 Lyle LovettLyle LovettLyle Pearce Lovett is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded thirteen albums and released 21 singles to date, including his highest entry, the number 10 chart hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Cowboy Man"...
on the soundtrack to Quiz Show- Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
with Jimmy BuffettJimmy BuffettJames William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
on the album Duets IIDuets IIDuets II is the 58th and last studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra. It was released in 1994, and was the sequel to the previous year's Duets....
- Frank Sinatra
- 1995 Nick CaveNick CaveNicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
on the album September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill - 1999 Max RaabeMax RaabeMax Raabe is a German singer. He is particularly noted as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester....
on the album Die Dreigroschenoper, Ensemble ModernEnsemble ModernEnsemble Modern is a chamber ensemble dedicated to the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries.... - 2000 The Brian Setzer OrchestraThe Brian Setzer OrchestraThe Brian Setzer Orchestra is a swing and jump blues band formed in 1990 by Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer. The group had success covering Louis Prima's "Jump Jive an' Wail", which appeared on Prima's 1957 album The Wildest!...
on the album Vavoom!Vavoom!-Track listing:All tracks composed by Brian Setzer; except where indicated# "Pennsylvania 6-5000" # "Jumpin' East of Java"# "Americano" # "If You Can't Rock Me"... - 2001 Robbie WilliamsRobbie WilliamsRobert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
on the album Swing When You're WinningSwing When You're WinningSwing When You're Winning is a swing cover album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams.-Background:After the success of his third studio album, Sing When You're Winning, Williams wanted to take another musical direction...