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Mack the Knife
Fascinating. Arguably the world's most popular song is "Mack the Knife." It started out in Berlin, 1928, when Brecht and Weill adapted an 18th C. English play called "The Beggar's Opera," and turned the story into their "Three Penny Opera." I've been playing around tonight and found so many covers of the song, from Lotte's, Brecht's lover and maybe his collaborator, to Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra and Jimmy Buffer, and to the singer who made the song classic, Bobby Darin.
Wiki says this about the operetta:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Threepenny_Opera
Here is what I've found on YouTube and going back to 1928. Take the time to follow the natural history of the song. It has occupied some of the best artists since.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QXJ3OXWaOY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiq0WqrW3fc
Lotte Lenya was Brecht's lover and collaborator:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPG9GcykPIY
Saccho:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjSvEzR1_Z4
Ella:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84mix8BWVoo
Sinatra and Buffet duo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO_FcczMlHs
And now Bobby Darin who nailed the song, chased the voodoo down, in 1959 at the age of 23:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dDs_N3kGQk
I hope all take the time to follow the evolution. I almost forgot to say. Darin's arrangement of the song was his own. Notice how he directs the band.
Tere
Last edited by Terreson, Feb/28/2010, 2:51 am
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Feb/28/2010, 2:34 am
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Re: Mack the Knife
hey Tere,
Did you know that Brecht, Weil and "The Threepenny Opera," had a profound influence on Bob Dylan? Describing the music, he wrote, "They were like folk songs in nature, but unlike folk songs too, because they were more sophisticated."
He was particularly struck by the song, "Pirate Jenny," and has written, "This piece left you flat on your back and it demanded to be taken seriously. It lingered.
Woody had never written a song like that. It wasn't a protest or a topical song and there was no love for people in it."
Some have noted the similarities between "Pirate Jenny," and Dylan's song, "When The Ship Comes In."
Also just read that Brecht's, "Song of the Moldau," contains, "Times are a-changing. The last shall be first/The last shall be first."
Some people were disappointed in Dylan's autobiography because it had so little in the way of personal information. I thought it was terrific because he was so honest and forthcoming about all of the music, poetry and performers who influenced him and from whom he quite deliberately borrowed.
Chris
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Feb/28/2010, 8:59 am
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Re: Mack the Knife
Chrisfriend, I absolutely did not know that. Interesting and a bit surprising. That is a good description of the work: "folk songs in nature."
I've read somewhere that Lotte was not only Brecht's lover but that she also collaborated with him on the operatta's libretto. Here she is singing "Pirate Jenny" in a film. It is fun to speculate on how responsible she herself is for the song lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec0clERjQ5A
Tere
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Feb/28/2010, 1:52 pm
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Re: Mack the Knife
"Asking me, kill them now or later?"
Talk about populist rage. I wasn't surprised to find out Dylan was influenced by
this stuff--he had a sardonic edge and there was raw rage there too. It wasn't all "Blowing In The Wind." One of my favorites is "Masters Of War."
Chris
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Feb/28/2010, 4:35 pm
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Re: Mack the Knife
Chrisfriend, I remember the first time I heard the song. It was a Judy Collins cover back in the sixties. And I thought, 'whoa Nelly. This is serious.' Populist rage indeed, as you say.
Tere
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Feb/28/2010, 4:50 pm
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