Mack the Knife
| "A Theme from The Threepenny Opera (Mack the Knife)" | |
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| Single by Louis Armstrong | |
| B-side | "Back O' Town Blues" |
| Released | 1956 |
| Format | 7" |
| Recorded |
New York City 28 September, 1955 |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Length | 3:25 |
| Label |
Columbia 40587 Coronet KS-349 (pictured, reached Nº1 in Australia) |
| Writer(s) | Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, English lyrics Marc Blitzstein, arr. Turk Murphy |
| "Mack the Knife" | ||||
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| Single by Bobby Darin | ||||
| from the album That's All | ||||
| B-side | "Was There a Call for Me" | |||
| Released | August 1959 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | December 19, 1958 at Fulton Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | Pop, jazz | |||
| Length | 3:11 (Album version) 3:04 (Single version) |
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| Label |
Atco (U.S.) London (UK) |
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| Writer(s) |
Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht Marc Blitzstein, Turk Murphy (English version) |
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| Bobby Darin singles chronology | ||||
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"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 recorded by many artists, including a US and UK number one hit for Bobby Darin in 1959.
A moritat (from mori meaning "deadly" and tat meaning "deed") is a medieval version of the murder ballad performed by strolling minstrels. 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, murders, rapes, and arson.
The song was a last-minute addition, inserted just 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. 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 moritat tradition. At the premiere, the song was sung by Kurt Gerron, who played Police Chief Brown. Weill also intended the Moritat to be accompanied by a barrel organ, which was to be played by the singer. 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.
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Wikipedia