Puttin' On the Ritz
{{Short description|1929 song by Irving Berlin}}
{{other}}
File:Puttin' On the Ritz US sheet music circa 1930.png
"Puttin' On the Ritz" is a song written by Irving Berlin. He wrote it in May 1927 and first published it on December 2, 1929.{{sfn|Kimball|Emmet|2001|p=262}} It was registered as an unpublished song on August 24, 1927 and again on July 27, 1928.{{sfn|Kimball|Emmet|2001|p=262}} It was introduced by Harry Richman and chorus in the musical film Puttin' On the Ritz (1930). According to The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin, this was the first song in film to be sung by an interracial ensemble.{{sfn|Kimball|Emmet|2001|p=262}} The title derives from the slang expression "to put on the Ritz", meaning to dress very fashionably. This expression was inspired by the opulent Ritz Hotel in London.
Hit phonograph records of the tune in its original period of popularity of 1929–1930 were recorded by Harry Richman and by Fred 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.{{sfn|Kimball|Emmet|2001|p=262}}
The song received renewed popularity in 1974 when it was performed by Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle in the film Young Frankenstein. Their version of "Puttin' On the Ritz" was ranked 84th in the American 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 on MTV 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 sitcom Top of the Heap.
Musical structure
The song is in AABA form, with a verse.{{sfn|Mueller|1986|p=267}} According to John 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 barely syncopated, acts as a contrast to the previous rhythmic complexities.{{sfn|Mueller|1986|p=267}} 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".{{sfn|Mueller|1986|p=267}}
Lyrics
File:Clark Gable - Idiot's Delight.jpg (1939)]]
The original version of Berlin's song included references to the then-popular fad of flashily dressed but poor black Harlemites parading up and down Lenox Avenue, "Spending ev'ry dime / For a wonderful time". In the United Kingdom, the song was popularized through the BBC's radio broadcasts of Joe Kaye's Band performing it at The Ritz Hotel, London restaurant in the 1930s.{{sfn|Montgomery-Massingberd|Watkin|Collie|1980|p=97}}
=Original lyrics=
{{Blockquote|
: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 film Idiot's Delight, where it was performed by Clark Gable and chorus, and this routine was selected for inclusion in That's Entertainment (1974). Columbia released a 78 recording of Fred Astaire singing the original lyrics in May 1930{{cite web|title= Puttin' On the Ritz / Crazy Feet |publisher= Rate Your Music |access-date= May 8, 2016 |url= http://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/fred_astaire/puttin_on_the_ritz___crazy_feet/}}{{deprecated source|certain=y|date=November 2024}} (B-side – "Crazy Feet", both recorded on March 26, 1930). For the film Blue Skies (1946), where it was performed by Fred Astaire, Berlin revised the lyrics to apply to affluent whites strutting "up and down Park Avenue".{{sfn|Kimball|Emmet|2001|p=262}}{{efn-ua|"In the original version it told of the ritzy airs of Harlemites parading up and down Lenox Avenue. For the 1946 film, the strutters became well-to-do whites on Park Avenue. The patronizing, yet admiring, satire of the song is shifted, then, and mellowed in the process. The change may have had to do with a growing awareness that stereotypical portrayal of minorities is offensive."{{sfn|Mueller|1986|p=267}}}} This second version was published after being registered for copyright on August 28, 1946.{{sfn|Kimball|Emmet|2001|p=262}}
Taco version
{{Infobox song
| name = Puttin' On the Ritz
| cover = Puttin' On the Ritz by Taco international sleeve variant A.png
| alt =
| caption = One of variants of the international picture sleeve
| type = single
| artist = Taco
| album = After Eight
| B-side = Livin' in My Dream World
| released = 1982
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Synth-pop
| length =
- 4:41 (album version)
- 3:22 (7-inch version)
- 6:08 (extended 12-inch version)
| label = RCA
| writer = Irving Berlin
| producer = David Parker
| prev_title = Cheek to Cheek
| prev_year = 1982
| next_title = Singin' in the Rain
| next_year = 1982
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|id=YsGjFh1ke44|title="Puttin' On The Ritz"}}
{{YouTube|4OUnedMCCW0|"Puttin' On the Ritz" (ZDF Silvester-Tanzparty, 1983)}}}}
}}
In 1982, singer Taco released a synth-pop cover version of "Puttin' On the Ritz" as a single from his album After Eight,{{cite web|first= Jason |last= Ankeny |title= Taco – Artist Biography |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= May 8, 2016 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/artist/taco-mn0000019028/biography}} released in Europe on Polydor and by RCA in the US. The single was accompanied by a music video, the original version of which contains characters in blackface and has since been banned from many networks.{{cite web|first= Matt |last= Koelling |title= The Five Spot: Five Hit Music Videos from the 80's That Wouldn't Fly Today |website= Something in the Wudder |date= October 10, 2016 |access-date= September 27, 2019 |url= http://www.somethinginthewudder.com/home/2016/10/8/the-five-spot-five-hit-music-videos-from-the-80s-that-wouldnt-fly-today}} An alternative version eliminates many shots of the blackface characters, though some remain.
The cover features interpolations of Berlin-penned songs "Always", "White Christmas", "Alexander's Ragtime Band", and "There's No Business Like Show Business", as well as "Broadway Rhythm" from the film Broadway Melody of 1936, which was written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown.{{cite web|title= Puttin' on the Ritz Interpolations|publisher= Genius |access-date= August 16, 2024 |url= https://genius.com/Taco-puttin-on-the-ritz-sample/interpolations}}
The single was a global hit, reaching No. 1 on Cash Box as well as No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Irving Berlin, then 95, the oldest ever living songwriter to have one of his compositions enter the top ten.{{cite web |title= Irving Berlin |publisher= Russian Heritage Museum |access-date= May 10, 2016 |url= http://russianheritagemuseum.com/en/RHM_Irving_Berlin/ |archive-date= June 1, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220601121036/http://russianheritagemuseum.com/en/RHM_Irving_Berlin/ |url-status= dead }} It was certified gold by the RIAA for selling over one million copies.{{cite web|title= RIAA – Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – Puttin' On the Ritz |publisher= Recording Industry Association of America |access-date= May 8, 2016 |url= https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Taco&ti=Puttin%27+On+the+Ritz#search_section}} It was Taco's only hit in the United States. This version of the song was ranked No. 53 in VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s special.{{cite web|title= 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s: Read the List |publisher= VH1 |date= April 1, 2009 |url= http://blog.vh1.com/2009-04-01/100-greatest-one-hit-wonders-of-the-80s-read-the-list-2/ |archive-date= August 6, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090806041321/http://blog.vh1.com/2009-04-01/100-greatest-one-hit-wonders-of-the-80s-read-the-list-2/}}
The song topped the charts in Sweden and New Zealand, and entered the top 5 in numerous countries including Australia, Norway, Austria, and Canada.
=Chart history=
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==Weekly singles charts==
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==Year-end charts==
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==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|artist=Taco|title=Puttin' On the Ritz|award=Platinum|relyear=1983|certyear=1983}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Taco|title=Putting On the Ritz|award=Platinum|relyear=1983|id=1984-02-03|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|certyear=1984}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Taco|title=Puttin' On the Ritz|award=Gold|relyear=1983|certyear=1983}}
{{Certification Table Bottom}}
See also
- Puttin' On the Ritz, a 1930 musical film directed by Edward Sloman, featuring the song
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book, 1958
- Puttin' on the Ritz, original and revised lyrics, at RagPiano by Bill Edwards (http://www.perfessorbill.com/lyrics/lyritz.htm)
References
=Notes=
{{reflist|group=upper-alpha}}
=Citations=
{{reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite book|editor1-first=Robert|editor1-last=Kimball|editor2-first=Linda|editor2-last=Emmet|year=2001|title=The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin|publisher=Knopf|isbn=0679419438}}
- {{cite book|first1=Hugh|last1=Montgomery-Massingberd|first2=David|last2=Watkin|first3=Keith|last3=Collie|year=1980|title=The London Ritz: a social and architectural history|publisher=Aurum|isbn=978-0-906053-01-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_xBUAAAAMAAJ}}
- {{cite book|first=John|last=Mueller|year=1986|title= Astaire Dancing – The Musical Films|publisher=Hamish Hamilton|location=London|isbn=0-241-11749-6}}
External links
{{subject bar|auto=y|d=y|portal=jazz}}
{{Irving Berlin songs}}
{{Fred Astaire}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Irving Berlin
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand
Category:Number-one singles in Sweden
Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings
Category:Music video controversies