| "Puttin' On the Ritz" | |
|---|---|
 US sheet music (c. 1930) | |
| Song | |
| Released | December 2, 1929 |
| Songwriter | Irving Berlin |
"Puttin' On the Ritz" is a song written byIrving Berlin. He wrote it in May 1927 and first published it on December 2, 1929.[1] It was registered as an unpublished song on August 24, 1927 and again on July 27, 1928.[1] It was introduced byHarry Richman and chorus in the musical filmPuttin' On the Ritz (1930). According toThe Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin, this was the first song in film to be sung by an interracial ensemble.[1] The title derives from theslang expression "to put on the Ritz", meaning to dress very fashionably. This expression was inspired by the opulentRitz Hotel inLondon.
Hitphonograph records of the tune in its original period of popularity of 1929–1930 were recorded byHarry Richman and byFred Astaire, with whom the song is particularly associated. Every other record label had their own version of this popular song (Columbia, Brunswick, Victor, and all of the dime store labels). Richman's Brunswick version of the song became the number-one selling record in America.[1]
The song received renewed popularity in 1974 when it was performed byGene Wilder andPeter Boyle in the filmYoung Frankenstein. Their version of "Puttin' On the Ritz" was ranked 84th in theAmerican Film Institute's 2004 list,100 Years...100 Songs. In 1982,Taco, a Dutch musician, recorded and released a modernized version of the song. Accompanied by a music video that aired onMTV and other music video networks, Taco's cover became a Top 10 hit in the United States, Canada, and much of Europe.Kenny Yarbrough also recorded a cover of the song; this version was used as theme music for the short-lived 1991 sitcomTop of the Heap.
The song is inAABA form, with a verse.[2] According toJohn Mueller, the central device in the A section is the "use of delayed rhythmic resolution: a staggering, off-balance passage, emphasized by the unorthodox stresses in the lyric, suddenly resolves satisfyingly on a held note, followed by the forceful assertion of the title phrase". The marchlike B section, which is only barelysyncopated, acts as a contrast to the previous rhythmic complexities.[2]Alec Wilder, in his study of American popular song, stated that the song's rhythmic pattern is "the most complex and provocative I have ever come upon".[2]
The original version of Berlin's song included references to the then-popular fad of flashily dressed but poorblackHarlemites parading up and downLenox Avenue, "Spending ev'ry dime / For a wonderful time". In the United Kingdom, the song was popularized through the BBC's radio broadcasts ofJoe Kaye's Band performing it atThe Ritz Hotel, London restaurant in the 1930s.[3]
Have you seen the well to do
Up on Lenox Avenue
On that famous thoroughfare
With their noses in the air?
High hats and colored collars,
White spats and fifteen dollars
Spending every dime
For a wonderful time
If you're blue, and you don't know where to go to
Why don't you go where Harlem flits?
Puttin' on the Ritz
Spangled gowns upon the bevy of high browns
From down the levee, all misfits
Puttin' on the Ritz
That's where each and every Lulu-Belle goes
Every Thursday evening with her swell beaus
Rubbin' elbows
Come with me and we'll attend their jubilee
And see them spend their last two bits
Puttin' on the Ritz
If you're blue, and you don't know where to go to
Why don't you go where Harlem flits?
Puttin' on the Ritz
Spangled gowns upon the bevy of high browns
From down the levy, all misfits
Puttin' on the Ritz
The song was featured with the original lyrics in the 1939 filmIdiot's Delight, where it was performed byClark Gable and chorus, and this routine was selected for inclusion inThat's Entertainment (1974). Columbia released a78 recording ofFred Astaire singing the original lyrics in May 1930[4][deprecated source] (B-side – "Crazy Feet", both recorded on March 26, 1930). For the filmBlue Skies (1946), where it was performed by Fred Astaire, Berlin revised the lyrics to apply to affluent whites strutting "up and downPark Avenue".[1][A] This second version was published after being registered for copyright on August 28, 1946.[1]
| "Puttin' On the Ritz" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of variants of the international picture sleeve | ||||
| Single byTaco | ||||
| from the albumAfter Eight | ||||
| B-side | "Livin' in My Dream World" | |||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Genre | Synth-pop | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Songwriter | Irving Berlin | |||
| Producer | David Parker | |||
| Taco singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Puttin' On The Ritz" onYouTube"Puttin' On the Ritz" (ZDF Silvester-Tanzparty, 1983) onYouTube | ||||
In 1982, singerTaco released asynth-popcover version of "Puttin' On the Ritz" as a single from his albumAfter Eight,[5] released in Europe onPolydor and byRCA in the US. The single was accompanied by a music video, the original version of which contains characters inblackface and has since been banned from many networks.[6] An alternative version eliminates many shots of the blackface characters, though some remain.
The cover featuresinterpolations of other Berlin-penned songs, such as, "Always", "White Christmas", "Alexander's Ragtime Band", and "There's No Business Like Show Business", as well as "Broadway Rhythm" from the filmBroadway Melody of 1936, which was written byArthur Freed andNacio Herb Brown.[7]
The single was a global hit, reaching No. 1 onCash Box[8] as well as No. 4 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart,[9] making Irving Berlin, then 95, the oldest ever living songwriter to have one of his compositions enter the top ten.[10] It was certifiedgold by theRIAA for selling over one million copies.[11] It was Taco's only hit in the United States.[5] This version of the song was ranked No. 53 inVH1's100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s special.[12]
The song topped the charts in Sweden and New Zealand, and entered the top 5 in numerous countries including Australia, Norway, Austria, and Canada.[13][14][15][16]
| Chart (1982–1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] | 5 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] | 3 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14] | 13 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[18] | 1 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] | 2 |
| Canada (The Record)[16] | 4 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] | 1 |
| France (IFOP)[20] | 74 |
| Germany (GfK)[21] | 20 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[22] | 24 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[23] | 12 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[24] | 18 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[25] | 1 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[26] | 2 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio)[27] | 3 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[28] | 1 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] | 6 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[9] | 4 |
| USBillboardAdult Contemporary[9] | 12 |
| USBillboardHot Dance Club Play[9] | 37 |
| USCash Box[8] | 1 |
| Chart (1983) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[30][31] | 34 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[32] | 14 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[33] | 22 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio)[34] | 16 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[35] | 31 |
| USCash Box[36] | 19 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[37] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[38] | Platinum | 20,000* |
| United States (RIAA)[39] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
