Did you know that “Mack the Knife” has a long history of violence dating back to 1928, when it was written for a German play?
The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld from the musical named Macheath, the "Mack the Knife" - The essence of the song is: Oh, look who's coming onstage, it's Mack the Knife—a thief, murderer, arsonist, and rapist.
When the song debuted, it was presented at the beginning and end of The Threepenny Opera. With the literal translation, these German lyrics shed light on Mackie Messer’s harsher actions, including the violation of a minor.
It was first known as “Die Moritat von Mackie Messer,” which is German for “The Murder Ballad of Mackie Messer.” Kurt Weill supplied the music with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. The main character is a murderer and rapist. The translation to English watered down some of the harsh realities of the original German version. Let’s look behind the meaning of “Mack the Knife” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4I05FMQi_Qs&pp=ygUObWFjayB0aGUga25pZmU%3D…;
.According to Songwriter, The Dick Hyman Trio, Richard Hayman & Jan August, Les Paul & Mary Ford, and Lawrence Welk all appeared on the Billboard charts in 1956 with instrumental versions of the song. Louis Armstrong recorded both an instrumental version and one with lyrics. The vocal version peaked at No. 20. Billy Vaughn recorded the song later that same year. But it was singer/actor Bobby Darin who had the most success, with the song going all the way to the top spot in 1959. Ella Fitzgerald won a Grammy for her 1960 version. Many other artists have recorded the song, including Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffett, Nick Cave, Dave Van Ronk, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby, Brian Setzer, Marianne Faithful, Dr. John, The Psychedelic Furs, David Cassidy, Michael Bublé, Sonny Rollins, Bill Haley. and Ruben Blades. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UibAE_x6NM8&pp=ygUaTWFjIHRoZSBrbmlmZSBydW…
However, the performer who owned this son was Bobby Darin. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yYZY9P4O4cQ&pp=ygUNbWFjIHRoZSBqbmlmZQ%3D%…
Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing... etc.