Mack the Knife

Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical composition

"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (Template:Langx) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama The Threepenny Opera (Template:Langx). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld named Macheath, the "Mack the Knife" of the title.

Overview

The song has become a popular standard recorded by many artists after it was recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1955 with translated lyrics by Marc Blitzstein. The most popular version of the song was by Bobby Darin in 1959, whose recording became a number one hit in the US and UK and earned him two Grammys at the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards. Ella Fitzgerald also received a Grammy for her performance of the song in 1961.

The original German lyrics and music of the song entered the public domain in the United States in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Threepenny Opera

Template:Multiple image A Moritat is a medieval version of the murder ballad performed by strolling minstrels. In The Threepenny Opera, the Template:Lang 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 whose crimes included rape and murder, transforming him into a modern antihero.

The song was a last-minute addition that was inserted before its premiere in 1928 because Harald Paulsen, the actor who played Macheath, demanded that Brecht and Weill add another number that would more effectively introduce his character.Template:Sfn However, Weill and Brecht decided the song should not be sung by Macheath himself, opting instead to write the song for a street singer in keeping with the Template:Lang tradition. At the premiere, the song was sung by Kurt Gerron, who played Police Chief Brown. Weill intended the Moritat to be accompanied by a barrel organ, which was to be played by the singer.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> At the premiere, though, the barrel organ failed, and the pit orchestra (a jazz band) had to quickly provide the accompaniment for the street singer.Template:Sfn

The Template:Lang singer introduces the play, first comparing Macheath to a shark: Template:Verse translation This is followed by tales of his crimes including a murder on the Strand, the disappearance of a wealthy man and theft of his money, a fatal stabbing of a woman, an arson that killed seven children in Soho, and the rape of a young widow.<ref name=Steyn />

The final stanza – not included in the original play, but added by Brecht for the 1931 film – expresses the theme and compares the glittering world of the rich and powerful with the dark world of the poor:<ref name=Steyn /> Template:Verse translation

French translation

The song was translated into French as "Template:Lang" by André Mauprey and Ninon Steinhoff and popularized by Catherine Sauvage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1954 Blitzstein translation

File:Cradle-Will-Rock-Blitzstein-1938.jpg

Marc Blitzstein translated the best-known English version of the song

The song was introduced to American audiences in 1933 in the first English-language production of The Threepenny Opera. The English lyrics were by Gifford Cochran and Jerrold Krimsky.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That production, however, was not successful, closing after a run of only ten days. The best-known English translation of the song comes from Marc Blitzstein's 1954 version of The Threepenny Opera, which played Off-Broadway for over six years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The opening stanza reads: <poem style="margin-left: 2em;">Oh, the shark has pretty teeth, dear, And he shows them pearly white Just a jack-knife has Macheath, dear And he keeps it out of sight<ref>Louis Armstrong – Mack The Knife Lyrics, lyricsfreak.com</ref> </poem>

Blitzstein's version is a loose translation of the German lyrics; some lines on the crimes of Macheath have been omitted, and he included a verse not in the original, giving a list of female characters in the drama.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The lyrics were further sanitized in the original Broadway cast recording (with Gerald Price as the ballad singer) with two stanzas on Macheath's assaults on women replaced.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Blitzstein's translation forms the basis of most of the popular versions heard today, including those by Louis Armstrong (1955) and Bobby Darin (1959), and most subsequent swing versions. Some further changes were made to Blitzstein's lyrics, for example, in Armstrong's recording, the name of Weill's widow, Lotte Lenya, who was the star of both the original 1928 German production and the 1954 Blitzstein Broadway version, was added to the lyrics "(Look out, Miss Lotte Lenya)".<ref name=Steyn />

Template:Anchor1976 Manheim–Willett extension ("Template:Lang")

In 1976, a brand-new interpretation of "Mack the Knife" by Ralph Manheim and John Willett was used in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of The Threepenny Opera, starring Raul Julia as Macheath. This version, simply known as "Template:Lang", is an extension of the story with completely new lyrics that expound upon the tales of Macheath's trail of activity. Here is an excerpt: <poem style="margin-left: 2em;">See the shark with teeth like razors. All can read his open face. And Macheath has got a knife, but Not in such an obvious place.</poem>

This version was performed by Lyle Lovett on the soundtrack of the 1994 film Quiz Show. Darin's version plays over the opening credits and Lovett's over the closing credits. This interpretation was performed by Sting on Hal Willner's 1985 Weill tribute album Lost in the Stars and also recorded by Nick Cave for the 1997 tribute album September Songs – The Music of Kurt Weill.<ref name="Bambarger 9">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

1994 translation

A much darker translation by Robert David MacDonald and Jeremy Sams into English was used for the 1994 Donmar Warehouse theatrical production in London. The new translation attempted to recapture the original tone of the song: <poem style="margin-left: 2em;">Though the shark's teeth may be lethal Still you see them white and red But you won't see Mackie's flick knife Cause he slashed you and you're dead.</poem>

Popular recordings

Louis Armstrong version

A number of early artists recorded the song, including the cast recording and a jazz version by Sidney Bechet,<ref name="pollack"/> but it was Louis Armstrong who first introduced the vocal version of "Mack the Knife" to the United States hit parade. George Avakian, a producer at Columbia Records, whose wife Anahid Ajemian gave a recital of Weill's Violin Concerto in 1954, became interested in Weill's music, in particular the song from the off-Broadway production of Three Penny Opera that he had seen. He spent a few months trying to interest various jazz artists from his label to record "Mack the Knife",<ref name="billboard oct 1955"/> eventually persuading Turk Murphy to record. Murphy also suggested Armstrong to Avakian for the recording,<ref name=Steyn /> and made an arrangement of the song for him.<ref name=gleason>Template:Cite book</ref>

Armstrong recorded an instrumental together with a vocal version on 28 September 1955, while Murphy also recorded both instrumental version and vocal versions himself as well as one in German with Lotte Lenya on 22 September 1955.<ref name="pollack">Template:Harvnb</ref> The lyrics of Armstrong's version were based on the Broadway cast recording, but Avakian suggested changing Blitzstein's lyrics by using the word "drooping" instead of "dropping", as well as including the name of Lotte Lenya in the recording.<ref name=Steyn /> Armstrong gave a shout-out in the song to Lenya who was invited to the recording session by Avakian. Lenya also joined Armstrong to record a duet version which was not released commercially in their lifetime,<ref name=gordon>Template:Cite book</ref> but was released posthumously in 1982.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The version released by Armstrong was spliced together from the instrumental and the vocal recordings.<ref name="pollack"/> The song, titled "A Theme from The Threepenny Opera (Mack the Knife)", was released in late 1955 together with an instrumental version by Murphy, both by Columbia.<ref name="billboard oct 1955">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The song, however, faced an initial ban on the song by radio stations for lyrics perceived as glorification of a criminal, although it sold well.<ref name=gordon /> Armstrong's recording reached BillboardTemplate:'s Top 100 chart in February 1956, peaking at No 20 on 17 March 1956.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="billboardtop100" /> An instrumental version released by Dick Hyman charted higher.<ref name=gordon /> Armstrong's version also reached No. 8 in the UK.<ref name=ukchart />

In 1997, the 1955 recording of the song by Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars on Columbia Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Armstrong's recording was inducted by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry in 2016.<ref name=loc>Template:Cite web</ref>

Charts

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chart

Chart (1956)	Peak position
US The Top 100 (Billboard)<ref name="billboardtop100">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	20

Bobby Darin version

The song, however, is most closely associated with Bobby Darin, who recorded his version on 19 December 1958 for his album That's All. Darin had performed the song in his act before, and wanted to include the song in an album of standards. The song was arranged by Richard Wess.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Musicians who played on the song included Don Lamond on drums, Milt Hinton on bass, and Doc Severinsen on trumpet.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Tom Dowd engineered the recording.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Darin's version has similar lyrics to Armstrong's but with small changes, such as using the word "babe" instead of "dear", and he ended the song with a reprise of the sixth verse instead of the first.<ref name="pollack" /> Darin recorded the song in around three takes, performing the song with an up-tempo bouncy beatTemplate:Sfn and modulating up a semitone every verse starting with the third verse, from B-flat to B to C to D-flat to E-flat.<ref name=Steyn />

The song was released as a single in August 1959, even though Darin was reluctant to release the song as a single.<ref name="pc13">Template:Cite web</ref> Dick Clark had advised Darin not to record the song because of the perception that, having come from an opera, the song might not appeal to a rock and roll audience; he subsequently acknowledged his error.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (Darin's only number 1 hit on the Hot 100) and number six on the Black Singles Chart.<ref>Template:AllMusic</ref><ref>" 'Mack the Knife' by Bobby Darin", songfacts.com</ref> It was listed as a Cash Box Top 100 number one single in 1959 for eight weeks.<ref>"Cash Box Pop Singles – 1959" Template:Webarchive, Cashbox</ref>

Reception

Frank Sinatra (who would record his own version in the 1980s with Quincy Jones for his L.A. Is My Lady album) called Darin's the "definitive" version.<ref name=Steyn />

Billboard ranked this version as the No. 2 song for 1959.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2003, the Darin version was ranked No. 251 on Rolling StoneTemplate:'s "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Darin's version of the song was featured in the films Quiz Show and What Women Want.

The song earned Darin two Grammy Awards in 1959, for Record of the Year and first ever Best New Artist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Darin's version was also inducted by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry at the same time as Armstrong's in 2016.<ref name=loc /> It was ranked as No. 15 in the list of Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1999, the 1959 release of the song by Bobby Darin on the Atco Records label was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Charts

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart

Chart (1959)	Peak position
Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1
US Cash Box<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1

All-time charts

All-time chart performance for "Mack the Knife"

Chart	Position
US Billboard Hot 100<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	4

Ella Fitzgerald version

On 13 February 1960,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Ella Fitzgerald performed the song live for the first time in a concert at Deutschlandhalle in Berlin. Fitzgerald, however, forgot the lyrics after the first stanza, and she improvised new lyrics, including name-checking Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin.<ref name=perone>Template:Cite book</ref> The song was included on the album Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife released in July.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The song was released as a single in April 1960.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> This version made the US Hot 100, peaking at No. 27 in June 1960.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This song was Fitzgerald's best performing song in the 1960s, and she included the song in all her subsequent shows.<ref name=nicholson>Template:Cite book</ref>

The performance earned Fitzgerald a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 3rd Annual Grammy Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Charts

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart

Chart (1960)	Peak position
US Cash Box<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	31

Instrumental versions

An instrumental version of "Mack the Knife" titled "Moritat – A Theme From "The Three Penny Opera"" was recorded by Dick Hyman,<ref name=Steyn /> and it performed better than Louis Armstrong's vocal version that charted around the same time, reaching No. 9 on BillboardTemplate:'s Top 100.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It also reached No. 9 on the Cashbox chart,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as No. 9 on the UK chart in 1956.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A number of other instrumental versions also appeared on The Top 100 at the same time: Richard Hayman and Jan August (No. 12),<ref name="billboard March17"/> Lawrence Welk (No. 31),<ref name="billboard March24">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Billy Vaughn (No. 37), and Les Paul and Mary Ford (No.49).<ref name="billboard March17">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Billy Vaughn also reached No. 12 in the UK.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins recorded an instrumental version titled simply "Template:Lang" for his album Saxophone Colossus, recorded in 1956.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A 1959 instrumental performance by Bill Haley & His Comets was the final song the group recorded for Decca Records.<ref>Template:AllMusic</ref> Ray Conniff recorded a version for orchestra and chorus in 1962 for the album, The Happy Beat. Liberace performed the song in five styles: as originally written, in the style of the "Blue Danube Waltz", as a music box, in a bossa nova rhythm, and in boogie-woogie.<ref>Template:YouTube (note: this performance omits the music box version).</ref>

Other versions

Frank Sinatra added the song to his repertoire in 1984 in an arrangement by Frank Foster;<ref name=Steyn>"Mack the Knife – Sinatra Song of the Century #95" by Mark Steyn, 8 December 2015</ref> In the performance included on his album L.A. Is My Lady, Sinatra similarly name-checked Armstrong and Darin, as well as adding members of his backing band.<ref name=perone /> Sinatra and Jimmy Buffett recorded a duet of the song for Sinatra's final album Duets II (1994).

Nick Cave and Spanish Fly performed the song for the video September Songs – The Music of Kurt Weill in 1994, released as an album in 1997.<ref name="Bambarger 9"/> while Sting and Dominic Muldowney recorded it for the 1985 tribute album Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill.<ref>Template:AllMusic</ref>

Other notable versions include performances by Lisa Stansfield, Mark Lanegan, Kenny Ball, Dave Van Ronk, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Tony Bennett, Anita O'Day (in an arrangement by Jimmy Giuffre), Marianne Faithfull, Brian Setzer, Dr. John, Ute Lemper, King Kurt,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bing Crosby, Eartha Kitt,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Psychedelic Furs, David Cassidy (in At the Copa), Westlife, The Doors, and Michael Bublé.<ref name=perone /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Swiss band The Young Gods radically reworked the song in industrial style on their 1991 album The Young Gods Play Kurt Weill as "Mackie Messer", Deana Martin recorded "Mack the Knife" on her second studio album, Volare, released in 2009 by Big Fish Records. Robbie Williams recorded the song on his 2001 album Swing When You're Winning.<ref>Template:AllMusic</ref> Hildegard Knef recorded a German version, "Mackie Messer".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Salsa musician Rubén Blades recorded an homage entitled "Pedro Navaja" (Razor Pete).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Brazilian composer Chico Buarque, in his loose adaptation of Threepenny Opera (Template:Lang), made two versions called "Template:Lang" and "Template:Lang", with lyrics in Portuguese.

1950s comedic legend Ernie Kovacs used a German-translated version of the song throughout his television series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of 1920s jazz standards
• List of UK singles chart number ones of the 1950s
• Pedro Navaja
• Mac Tonight, marketing figure for McDonald's in the late 1980s using this song

References

Template:Reflist Sources

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:YouTube, sung by Lotte Lenya (3:39)
• Template:YouTube (2:48)
• Bobby Darin "Mack the Knife" website
• "What's the story behind 'Mack the Knife'?", The Straight Dope, 1 April 2004
• Template:IBDB show
• Lyrics Template:Webarchive