I’ve always heard that Bobby Daren often stated words to the effect that he was going to de-throne Frank Sinatra. Consequently there was no love lost between the two of them. Listening to Bobby Daren’s late 50’s hit Mack the Knife today, I couldn’t help but think it would have been a perfect song for Sinatra. Over all the years I never heard him perform it. Was this because of his dislike for Daren?
I am virtually certain that I have seen footage of Sinatra singing Mack The Knife…
iTunes has 4 versions recorded by Frank Sinatra (from 1 studio and 3 live albums).
Well, it’s not like Bobby Darin wrote the song or anything. He just sang a version of it that became a hit for him.
Has somebody been watching “Quiz Show” (Redford, 1994 [?])? I just played that for fun last time I met my nephew and sister for babysitting, sitting at the Hammond. Great tune. I like to do it in 4, though – no offense, KW!
And if you hear the music in that film’s end credits, you’ll hear Lyle Lovett’ singing Moritat, a slower English adaptation of the original Das Moritat von Mackie Messer.
Sinatra and Jimmy Buffett did a pretty awesome version of it.
Note musical, but informative: What’s the story behind “Mack the Knife”? - The Straight Dope
The definitive version, by Lotte Lenya
I, myself, have had the pleasure several times of singing this song onstage with a delightful backup band, in San Diego no less!
I still preferred Bobby Darin.
Doesn’t work in Germany :(, so I had to console myself with her rendition of Pirate Jenny.
As for Mack the Knife, I’ll have to go with the oddball choice of Nick Cave… Of which I unfortunately can’t seem to find a version online either.
Interesting. I never knew she was a singer. To me, she was just a mean old lady with a knife in her shoe.
Nah, Sinatra’s is the best. A song about a thug, sung by a thug.
Witty – well, it made me laugh. But if you want to talk about “best” – Jimmy Smith invented that tune for jazz musicians (well, maybe Sonny Rollins can join in – I don’t know who had the first one of Morita:t), and Joey D. finished it.
ETA no umlaut on “Moritat.” Oops.
Sinatra was a thug the way I was a cowboy.
Far out! While you were posting this I was looking up these Netflix goodies to point out that before the vocal Mack the Knife versions came out, there were three instrumentals from the same basic period that had me hooked on Moritat before the lyrics version:
Can any of you other geezers add some more from that same timeframe?
Moritat A Theme From (The Three Penny Opera) by The Dick Hyman Trio
The Poor People of Paris - Les Baxter
Nelson Riddle - Lisbon Antigua
Don’t know Les Baxter, but I will today, but you’re getting into some good damned shit with Dick Hyman and Nelson Riddle. The former taught me (via his records) a lot of piano and tunes and shtik, and the latter just taught everybody how to arrange. Stick with it, sonny! Thanks for the links.
Tell that to Mia Farrow.