Mack The Knife by A-S

A-S - Mack The Knife

A-S

Mar 03, 2025 06:45pm

Mackie Messer") is a song composed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Weill" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kurt Weill</a> with lyrics by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertolt_Brecht" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bertolt Brecht</a> for their 1928 music drama <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Threepenny_Opera" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Threepenny Opera</a> (German: Die Dreigroschenoper). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld named <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Macheath" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Macheath</a>, the "Mack the Knife" of the title.The song has become a popular <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_(music)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">standard</a> recorded by many artists after it was recorded by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Armstrong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Louis Armstrong</a> in 1955 with translated lyrics by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Blitzstein" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Marc Blitzstein</a>. The most popular version of the song was by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Darin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bobby Darin</a> in 1959, whose recording became a number one hit in the US and UK and earned him two <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Awards" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Grammys</a> at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Annual_Grammy_Awards" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2nd Annual Grammy Awards</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Fitzgerald" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ella Fitzgerald</a> also received a Grammy for her performance of the song in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Annual_Grammy_Awards" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1961</a>. The song, however, is most closely associated with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Darin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bobby Darin</a>, who recorded his version on December 19, 1958 for his album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That%27s_All_(Bobby_Darin_album)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">That's All</a>. 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-28" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[28]</a> Musicians who played on the song included <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Lamond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Don Lamond</a> on drums, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milt_Hinton" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Milt Hinton</a> on bass, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Severinsen" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Doc Severinsen</a> on trumpet.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-29" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[29]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Dowd" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tom Dowd</a> engineered the recording.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-30" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[30]</a> 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-pollack-15" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[15]</a> Darin recorded the song in around three takes, performing the song with an up-tempo bouncy beat<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-FOOTNOTEStarr2011[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidIUYCMSnVH-oCpgPA37_37%E2%80%9338]-31" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[31]</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modulating" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">modulating</a> up a semitone every verse starting with the third verse, from B-flat to B to C to D-flat to E-flat.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-Steyn-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[6]</a>The song was released as a single in August 1959, even though Darin was reluctant to release the song as a single.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-pc13-32" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[32]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Clark" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dick Clark</a> 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_roll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rock and roll</a> audience; he subsequently acknowledged his error.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-33" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[33]</a> The song reached number one on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Billboard Hot 100</a> (Darin's only number 1 hit on the Hot 100) and number six on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Singles_Chart" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Black Singles Chart</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-34" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[34]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-35" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[35]</a> It was listed as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cash_Box_Top_100_number-one_singles_of_1959" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cash Box Top 100 number one single in 1959</a> for eight weeks.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife#cite_note-36" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[36]</a>