View source for Mack the Knife

{{short description|1928 song by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill}}
{{Other uses}}
{{use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox musical composition
| name          = Mack the Knife
| composer      = [[Kurt Weill]]
| text          = [[Bertolt Brecht]]
| image         =  <!-- Just the file name -->
| alt           = 
| caption       =
| native_name   = Die Moritat von Mackie Messer
| native_name_lang = de
| genre         = {{lang|de|[[Moritat]]}}
| language      = German
| published     = {{Start date|1928|08|31|df=y}}
}}

"'''Mack the Knife'''" or "'''The Ballad of Mack the Knife'''" ({{langx|de|"'''Die Moritat von Mackie Messer'''"|italic=no|link=no}}) is a song composed by [[Kurt Weill]] with lyrics by [[Bertolt Brecht]] for their 1928 music drama ''[[The Threepenny Opera]]'' ({{langx|de|Die Dreigroschenoper|link=no}}). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld named [[Captain Macheath|Macheath]], the "Mack the Knife" of the title.

The song has become a popular [[standard (music)|standard]] recorded by many artists after it was recorded by [[Louis Armstrong]] in 1955 with translated lyrics by [[Marc Blitzstein]]. The most popular version of the song was by [[Bobby Darin]] in 1959, whose recording became a number one hit in the US and UK and earned him two [[Grammy Awards|Grammys]] at the [[2nd Annual Grammy Awards]]. [[Ella Fitzgerald]] also received a Grammy for her performance of the song in [[3rd Annual Grammy Awards|1961]].

== ''The Threepenny Opera'' ==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| total_width = 280
| header = Composer and lyricist of "Mack the Knife"
| image1 = Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2005-0119, Kurt Weill.jpg
| caption1 = [[Kurt Weill]]
| image2 = Bertolt-Brecht.jpg
| caption2 = [[Bertolt Brecht]]
}}
A ''[[Moritat]]'' is a medieval version of the [[murder ballad]] performed by strolling [[minstrel]]s. In ''The Threepenny Opera'', the {{lang|de|Moritat}} singer with his [[street organ]] introduces and closes the drama with the tale of the deadly ''Mackie Messer'', or ''Mack the Knife'', a character based on the dashing highwayman [[Captain Macheath|Macheath]] in [[John Gay]]'s ''[[The Beggar's Opera]]'' (who was in turn based on the historical thief [[Jack Sheppard]]). The Brecht-Weill version of the character was far more cruel and sinister whose crimes included rape and murder, transforming him into a modern [[antihero]].

The song was a last-minute addition that was inserted before its premiere in 1928 because [[Harald Paulsen]], the actor who played Macheath, demanded that Brecht and Weill add another number that would more effectively introduce his character.{{sfn|Friedwald|2002|page=79}} However, Weill and Brecht decided the song should not be sung by Macheath himself, opting instead to write the song for a street singer in keeping with the {{lang|de|Moritat}} tradition. At the premiere, the song was sung by [[Kurt Gerron]], who played Police Chief Brown. Weill intended the Moritat to be accompanied by a [[barrel organ]], which was to be played by the singer.<ref>{{cite book |last=Farneth |first=David |title=Kurt Weill: A Life in Pictures and Documents |publisher=Overlook Press |location=Woodstock, New York |year=2000 |pages=75–78 |isbn=0-87951-721-2 }}</ref> At the premiere, though, the barrel organ failed, and the pit orchestra (a jazz band) had to quickly provide the accompaniment for the street singer.{{sfn|Friedwald|2002|pages=81–82}}
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\paper { #(set-paper-size "a4") }
\layout { indent = 0 \context { \Score \remove "Bar_number_engraver" } }

global = { \key c \major \time 2/2 \partial 2 \tempo "Blues Tempo" 2=66 }

tenorVoice = \relative c { \global \set midiInstrument = "trombone" \repeat volta 2 {
  e4. g8 | a2 a | r2 e4. g8 | a2 a |
  r2 d,4. f8 | a2 a | r2 d,4. f8 | a1 |
  r2 g4. b8 | d2 c2~ | c b4. a8 | c2 d, |
  r2 e4. f8 | c'2 d, | r2 c'4 b | a2 }
}

verseI = \lyricmode {
  \set stanza = "1." Und der Hai -- fisch, der hat Zäh -- ne,
  und die trägt er im Ge -- sicht,
  und Ma -- cheath, der hat ein Mes -- ser,
  doch das Mes -- ser sieht man nicht.
}
verseII = \lyricmode {
  \set stanza = "2." An 'nem schö -- nen blau -- en Sonn -- tag
  liegt ein to -- ter Mann am Strand
  und ein Mensch geht um die Ek -- ke,
  den man Mak -- kie Mes -- ser nennt.
}

right = \relative c' { \global \set midiInstrument = "accordion" \repeat volta 2 {
  r2\pp | <e c a>4 q q q | q q q q | <f d c>4 q q q |
  q q q q | <f d b> q q q | q q <b, a> <c a> | <e c a> q q q |
  q q <e c> q | <a e d> q <a e c> q | q q <e c> q | <f d c> q <c a> q |
  q q q q | <f d c> q <c a> q | q q <f d c> <f d b> | <e c a> q }
}

left = \relative c { \global \set midiInstrument = "accordion" \repeat volta 2 {
  r2 | c2 g | c g | c g | c g | d' g, | d' g, | c g |
  c g | a e | a e | d' a | d a | d g, | d' g, | c }
}

pianoPart = \new PianoStaff <<
  \new Staff = "right"
  \right
  \new Staff = "left"
  { \clef bass \left }
>>

\score {
  <<
    \new Staff
    { \clef "treble_8" \new Voice = "tenor" \tenorVoice }
    \addlyrics { \verseI }
    \addlyrics { \verseII }
    \pianoPart
  >>
  \layout { }
}
\score { \unfoldRepeats { << \tenorVoice \\ \right \\ \left >> }
  \midi {
    \context { \Score midiChannelMapping = #'instrument }
    \context { \Staff \remove "Staff_performer" }
    \context { \Voice \consists "Staff_performer" }
  }
}
</score>}}</div>
The {{lang|de|Moritat}} singer introduces the play, first comparing Macheath to a shark:
{{Verse translation|lang=de|italicsoff=y
|Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne,
Und die trägt er im Gesicht.
Und Macheath, der hat ein Messer,
Doch das Messer sieht man nicht.
|And the shark, it has teeth,
And it wears them in the face.
And Macheath, he has a knife,
But the knife can't be seen.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bernard N. Lee Jr|title=A Look Back in Time: Memoir of a Military Kid in the 50s|volume=2|editor=Michele Barard|publisher=Bernard N. Lee Jr|location=Conyers, Georgia|year=2017|page=55|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSHTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA55|isbn=978-0-9995576-0-0}}</ref>
}}
This is followed by tales of his crimes including a murder on the [[Strand, London|Strand]], the disappearance of a wealthy man and theft of his money, a fatal stabbing of a woman, an arson that killed seven children in [[Soho]], and the rape of a young widow.<ref name=Steyn />

The final stanza – not included in the original play, but added by Brecht for [[The Threepenny Opera (film)|the 1931 film]] – expresses the theme and compares the glittering world of the rich and powerful with the dark world of the poor:<ref name=Steyn />
{{Verse translation|lang=de|italicsoff=y
|Denn die einen sind im Dunkeln
Und die andern sind im Licht
Und man siehet die im Lichte
Die im Dunkeln sieht man nicht.
|There are some who are in darkness
And the others are in light
And you see the ones in brightness
Those in darkness drop from sight.
}}

The original German lyrics and music of the song entered the [[public domain]] in the United States in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2024/|title=Public Domain Day 2024 {{pipe}} Duke University School of Law|website=web.law.duke.edu}}</ref>

=== French translation ===
The song was translated into French as "{{lang|fr|La complainte de Mackie|italic=no}}" by [[André Mauprey]] and Ninon Steinhoff and popularized by [[Catherine Sauvage]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.secondhandsongs.com/work/115819 |title=Song: La complainte de Mackie |website=Secondhandsongs.com |access-date=8 October 2014 }}</ref>

=== 1954 Blitzstein translation ===
[[File:Cradle-Will-Rock-Blitzstein-1938.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Marc Blitzstein]] translated the best-known English version of the song]]
The song was introduced to American audiences in 1933 in the first English-language production of ''The Threepenny Opera''. The English lyrics were by Gifford Cochran and Jerrold Krimsky.<ref>{{IBDB title|11750|Threepenny Opera|(Cochran/Krimsky)}}</ref> That production, however, was not successful, closing after a run of only ten days. The best-known English [[translation]] of the song comes from [[Marc Blitzstein]]'s 1954 version of ''The Threepenny Opera'', which played [[off-Broadway]] for over six years.<ref>{{IBDB title|13510|Threepenny Opera|(Blitzstein)}}</ref> The opening stanza reads:
<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">Oh, the shark has pretty teeth, dear,
And he shows them pearly white
Just a [[pocketknife|jack-knife]] has Macheath, dear
And he keeps it out of sight<ref>[https://www.lyricsfreak.com/l/louis+armstrong/mack+the+knife_20085339.html Louis Armstrong – Mack The Knife Lyrics], lyricsfreak.com</ref>
</poem>

Blitzstein's version is a loose translation of the German lyrics; some lines on the crimes of Macheath have been omitted, and he included a verse not in the original, giving a list of female characters in the drama.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AdYYDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT429 |title=Musical Theater: An Appreciation|first= Alyson|last= McLamore |date= 2016|isbn=9781317346333 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> The lyrics were further sanitized in the original Broadway cast recording (with Gerald Price as the ballad singer) with two stanzas on Macheath's assaults on women replaced.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQK-PeiCH4AC&pg=PA362 |title=Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, His World|first=Howard|last=Pollack|author-link=Howard Pollack|date= 2012|isbn=9780199791590|publisher=Oxford University Press USA |page=362}}</ref>

Blitzstein's translation forms the basis of most of the popular versions heard today, including those by [[Louis Armstrong]] (1955) and [[Bobby Darin]] (1959), and most subsequent [[swing music|swing]] versions. Some further changes were made to Blitzstein's lyrics, for example, in Armstrong's recording, the name of Weill's widow, [[Lotte Lenya]], who was the star of both the original 1928 German production and the 1954 Blitzstein [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] version, was added to the lyrics "(Look out, Miss Lotte Lenya)".<ref name=Steyn />

=== {{anchor|Manheim-Willett}}1976 Manheim–Willett extension ("{{lang|de|Moritat|italic=no}}") ===
In 1976, a brand-new interpretation of "Mack the Knife" by [[Ralph Manheim]] and [[John Willett]] was used in the [[Shakespeare in the Park (New York City)|New York Shakespeare Festival's]] production of ''The Threepenny Opera'', starring [[Raul Julia]] as Macheath. This version, simply known as "{{lang|de|Moritat|italic=no}}", is an extension of the story with completely new lyrics that expound upon the tales of Macheath's trail of activity. Here is an excerpt:
<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">See the shark with teeth like razors.
All can read his open face.
And Macheath has got a knife, but
Not in such an obvious place.</poem>

This version was performed by [[Lyle Lovett]] on the soundtrack of the 1994 film ''[[Quiz Show (film)|Quiz Show]]''. Darin's version plays over the opening credits and Lovett's over the closing credits. This interpretation was performed by [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] on Hal Willner's 1985 Weill tribute album ''Lost in the Stars'' and also recorded by [[Nick Cave]] for the 1997 tribute album ''September Songs – The Music of Kurt Weill''.<ref name="Bambarger 9">{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3QkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9-IA6 |title=Sony Classical Tribute Taps into the Legacy of Kurt Weill |first=Bradley |last=Bambarger |magazine=Billboard |date= 23 August 1997 |page=9}}</ref>

=== 1994 translation ===
A much darker translation by [[Robert David MacDonald]] and [[Jeremy Sams]] into English was used for the 1994 [[Donmar Warehouse]] theatrical production in London. The new translation attempted to recapture the original tone of the song:
<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">Though the shark's teeth may be lethal
Still you see them white and red
But you won't see Mackie's [[switchblade|flick knife]]
Cause he slashed you and you're dead.</poem>

== Popular recordings ==
{{Infobox song
| name       = A Theme from ''The Threepenny Opera'' (Mack the Knife)
| cover      = Mack The Knife Coronet.jpg
| alt        = 
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Louis Armstrong]]
| album      = 
| B-side     = Back O'Town Blues
| released   = November 1955<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Reviews of New Pop Records |magazine=Billboard |date=19 November 1955 |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wyEEAAAAMBAJ&dq=louis+armstrong+mack+the+knife&pg=PA44}}</ref>
| recorded   = New York City<br />28 September 1955<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mvyj8r6puTgC&pg=PA257 |title=All of Me: The Complete Discography of Louis Armstrong |author=Jos Willems |publisher=Scarecrow Press |date=2006 |page=257 |isbn=978-0-8108-5730-8 |access-date=29 August 2016}}</ref>
| studio     = 
| venue      = 
| genre      = [[Jazz]]
| length     = 3:25
| label      = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[Coronet Records|Coronet]]
| writer     = [[Kurt Weill]]<br />[[Bertolt Brecht]]<br />[[Marc Blitzstein]] (English lyrics)<br />[[Turk Murphy]] (arranger)
| producer   = 
| prev_title = 
| prev_year  = 
| next_title = 
| next_year  = 
}}

===Louis Armstrong version===
A number of early artists recorded the song, including the cast recording and a jazz version by [[Sidney Bechet]],<ref name="pollack"/> but it was [[Louis Armstrong]] who first introduced the vocal version of "Mack the Knife" to the United States [[hit parade]]. [[George Avakian]], a producer at [[Columbia Records]], whose wife [[Anahid Ajemian]] gave a recital of Weill's Violin Concerto in 1954, became interested in Weill's music, in particular the song from the off-Broadway production of ''Three Penny Opera'' that he had seen. He spent a few months trying to interest various jazz artists from his label to record "Mack the Knife",<ref name="billboard oct 1955"/> eventually persuading [[Turk Murphy]] to record. Murphy also suggested Armstrong to Avakian for the recording,<ref name=Steyn /> and made an arrangement of the song for him.<ref name=gleason>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-bEODAAAQBAJ&pg=PT91 |title=Music in the Air: The Selected Writings of Ralph J. Gleason|first= Ralph J. |last=Gleason|author-link=Ralph J. Gleason|date= 2016|isbn=9780300221091|publisher=Yale University Press}}</ref>

Armstrong recorded an instrumental together with a vocal version on 28 September 1955, while Murphy also recorded both instrumental version and vocal versions himself as well as one in German with [[Lotte Lenya]] on 22 September 1955.<ref name="pollack">{{harvnb|Pollack|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hQK-PeiCH4AC&pg=PA364 364]}}</ref> The lyrics of Armstrong's version were based on the Broadway cast recording, but Avakian suggested changing Blitzstein's lyrics by using the word "drooping" instead of "dropping", as well as including the name of Lotte Lenya in the recording.<ref name=Steyn /> Armstrong gave a shout-out in the song to Lenya who was invited to the recording session by Avakian. Lenya also joined Armstrong to record a duet version which was not released commercially in their lifetime,<ref name=gordon>{{cite book |url=https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780312026073?cm_sp=bdp-_-ISBN13-_-PLP |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lpBcYuVVJawC&pg=PT384 396] |title=Mark the Music: The Life and Work of Marc Blitzstein |first= Eric A. |last=Gordon |date=1989 |publisher=St Martins' Press|isbn=9780312026073 }}</ref> but was released posthumously in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|author=The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music|url=https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=414642583383910|title=#OnThisDay Lotte Lenya attends Louis Armstrong's recording session for "Mack the Knife" in 1955|website=[[Facebook]]|access-date=2024-08-12 |date=2021-09-28}}</ref>

The version released by Armstrong was spliced together from the instrumental and the vocal recordings.<ref name="pollack"/> The song, titled "A Theme from The Threepenny Opera (Mack the Knife)", was released in late 1955 together with an instrumental version by Murphy, both by Columbia.<ref name="billboard oct 1955">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OiMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15 |title= Unorthodox Events Lead to 2 Disks |date=29 October 1955 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> The song, however, faced an initial ban on the song by radio stations for lyrics perceived as glorification of a criminal, although it sold well.<ref name=gordon /> Armstrong's recording reached ''Billboard''{{'}}s Top 100 chart in February 1956, peaking at No 20 on 17 March 1956.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iznCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA321 |title=Louis Armstrong, an American Genius |first= James Lincoln |last=Collier|author-link=James Lincoln Collier|date= 1983 |isbn=9780195037272 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=321}}</ref><ref name="billboardtop100" /> An instrumental version released by [[Dick Hyman]] charted higher.<ref name=gordon /> Armstrong's version also reached No. 8 in the UK.<ref name=ukchart />

In 1997, the 1955 recording of the song by [[Louis Armstrong]] & His All-Stars on [[Columbia Records]] was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=GRAMMY Hall of Fame {{!}} Hall of Fame Artists|url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#m |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=grammy.com}}</ref>

Armstrong's recording was inducted by the [[Library of Congress]] in the [[National Recording Registry]] in 2016.<ref name=loc>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2016/16-056.html |title=New Entries to National Recording Registry |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=2016-08-29 }}</ref>

====Charts====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1956)
!Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|3|artist=Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars|song=Mack the Knife}}
|-
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|8|artist=Louis Armstrong|artistid=333 |refname=ukchart}}
|-
|US [[Billboard Hot 100|The Top 100]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref name="billboardtop100">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8x4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44 |title= The Top 100|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=44 |date=17 March 1956}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|20
|-
|}

===Bobby Darin version===
{{Infobox song
| name       = Mack the Knife
| cover      = Mack the Knife Bobby Darin.jpg
| alt        = 
| border     = yes
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Bobby Darin]]
| album      = [[That's All (Bobby Darin album)|That's All]]
| B-side     = Was There a Call for Me
| released   = August 1959<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Reviews of This Week's Singles |magazine=Billboard |date=10 August 1959 |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PQoEAAAAMBAJ&dq=bobby+darin+mack+the+knife&pg=PA41}}</ref>
| recorded   = 19 December 1958
| studio     = 
| venue      = 
| genre      = 
* [[Traditional pop]]
* [[jazz]]
* [[Lounge music|lounge]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Burke|first=Ken|chapter=Bobby Darin|editor-last=Knopper|editor-first=Steve|date=1 January 1998|title=MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=[[Visible Ink Press]]|location=Detroit|pages=121}}</ref>
| length     = 3:11 (album version)<br />3:04 (single version)
| label      = [[Atco Records|Atco]] (U.S.)<br />[[London Records]] (UK)
| writer     = [[Kurt Weill]], [[Bertolt Brecht]]<br />[[Marc Blitzstein]] (English version)
| producer   = 
| prev_title = [[Dream Lover]]
| prev_year  = 1959
| next_title = [[Beyond the Sea (song)|Beyond the Sea]]
| next_year  = 1959
}}

The song, however, is most closely associated with [[Bobby Darin]], who recorded his version on 19 December 1958 for his album [[That's All (Bobby Darin album)|''That's All'']]. Darin had performed the song in his act before, and wanted to include the song in an album of standards. The song was arranged by Richard Wess.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/MackTheKnife-Darin.pdf|title="Mack the Knife"—Bobby Darin (1959). Added to the National Registry: 2015. Essay by Jimmy Scalia|website=Loc.gov|access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref> Musicians who played on the song included [[Don Lamond]] on drums, [[Milt Hinton]] on bass, and [[Doc Severinsen]] on trumpet.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IUYCMSnVH-oC&pg=PA36 |title=Bobby Darin: A Life|first= Michael Seth |last=Starr |date=2011|isbn=9781589795983|publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing |page=36 }}</ref> [[Tom Dowd]] engineered the recording.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelanguageofmusic.com/bio_50.HTM|title=Tom Dowd & the Language of Music|publisher=Language of Music Films|access-date=7 June 2023}}</ref> Darin's version has similar lyrics to Armstrong's but with small changes, such as using the word "babe" instead of "dear", and he ended the song with a reprise of the sixth verse instead of the first.<ref name="pollack" /> Darin recorded the song in around three takes, performing the song with an up-tempo bouncy beat{{sfn|Starr|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=IUYCMSnVH-oC&pg=PA37 37–38]}} and [[modulating]] up a semitone every verse starting with the third verse, from B-flat to B to C to D-flat to E-flat.<ref name=Steyn />

The song was released as a single in August 1959, even though Darin was reluctant to release the song as a single.<ref name="pc13">{{cite web |url= https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19762/m1/ |title=Big Rock Candy Mountain: Rock 'n' roll in the late fifties. [Part 3]: Track 2: Bobby Darin |work= [[Pop Chronicles]]}}</ref> [[Dick Clark]] had advised Darin not to record the song because of the perception that, having come from an opera, the song might not appeal to a [[rock and roll]] audience; he subsequently acknowledged his error.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bobbydarin.net/bdclark.html|title=Bobby Darin & Dick Clark|website=www.bobbydarin.net}}</ref> The song reached number one on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], Darin's only number 1 hit on that chart.<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000114946|title=''That's All'' – Bobby Darin}}</ref><ref>[https://www.songfacts.com/facts/bobby-darin/mack-the-knife {{"'}}Mack the Knife' by Bobby Darin"], songfacts.com</ref> It was listed as a [[List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1959|''Cash Box'' Top 100 number one single in 1959]] for eight weeks.<ref>[http://www.cashboxmagazine.com/archives/50s_files/1959.html "Cash Box Pop Singles – 1959"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110818051938/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/50s_files/1959.html |date=18 August 2011 }}, ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]''</ref>

====Reception====
[[Frank Sinatra]] (who would record his own version in the 1980s with [[Quincy Jones]] for his ''[[L.A. Is My Lady]]'' album) called Darin's the "definitive" version.<ref name=Steyn />

{{Blockquote|text=Bobby Darin took the song by the scruff of the neck and turned it into the swing classic widely known today. Unlike the Brecht-Weill original, which remains in the same key throughout, Darin's version changes key, chromatically, no fewer than five times, ratcheting up the tension. – ''[[Financial Times]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/90df12d6-b87f-11e5-b151-8e15c9a029fb |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/90df12d6-b87f-11e5-b151-8e15c9a029fb |archive-date=2022-12-10 |url-access=subscription|title=The Life of a Song: 'Mack the Knife'|first=David|last=Cheal|date=15 January 2016|work=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref>}}

''Billboard'' ranked this version as [[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1959|the No. 2 song for 1959]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1959.php|title=Billboard Top 100 – 1959|access-date=13 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102011043/http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1959.php|archive-date=2 January 2014}}</ref> In 2003, the Darin version was ranked No. 251 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]" list.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-151127/|title=500 Greatest Songs of All Time|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=11 December 2003}}</ref> Darin's version of the song was featured in the films ''[[Quiz Show (film)|Quiz Show]]'' and ''[[What Women Want]]''.

The song earned Darin two [[Grammy Awards]] in [[2nd Annual Grammy Awards|1959]], for [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year]] and first ever [[Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/2nd-annual-grammy-awards-1959|title=2nd Annual GRAMMY Awards|date=28 November 2017|website=GRAMMY.com}}</ref> Darin's version was also inducted by the [[Library of Congress]] in the [[National Recording Registry]] at the same time as Armstrong's in 2016.<ref name=loc /> It was ranked as No. 15 in the list of [[Songs of the Century]] by the [[Recording Industry of America]] and the [[National Endowment for the Arts]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/list.top.365.songs/ |title=Songs of the Century |date=7 March 2001 |work=[[CNN]] |access-date=1 November 2022 |archive-date=25 April 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130425105643/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/list.top.365.songs/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1999, the 1959 release of the song by [[Bobby Darin]] on the [[Atco Records]] label was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#m |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=www.grammy.com}}</ref>

====Charts====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1959)
!Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|11|artist=Bobby Darin |song=Mack the Knife}}
|-
{{single chart|Wallonia|15|artist=Bobby Darin |song=Mack the Knife}}
|-
|Canada ([[CHUM Chart|CHUM ''Hit Parade'']])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chumtribute.com/59-10-12-chart.jpg|title=CHUM Hit Parade, week of October 12, 1959}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|14|artist=Bobby Darin |song=Mack the Knife}}
|-
{{single chart|Norway|9|artist=Bobby Darin |song=Mack the Knife}}
|-
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|1|artist=Bobby Darin|artistid=1246}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|1|artist=Bobby Darin}}
|-
|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tropicalglen.com/Archives/50s_files/19591010.html|title=The Cash Box Best-Selling Singles: Week ending October 10, 1959|website=Tropicalglen.com }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
{{single chart|West Germany|31|artist=Bobby Darin |song=Mack the Knife|songid=107351 }}
|-
|}

===All-time charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"!Chart (1958–2021)
|+All-time chart performance for "Mack the Knife"
! Chart
! Position
|-
!scope="row"| US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-singles/ |title=Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=May 13, 2025}}</ref>
|4
|}

====Certifications====
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Bobby Darin|title=Mack The Knife|award=Silver|type=single|relyear=2012|certyear=2024|access-date=12 April 2024|id=19884-3109-1}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Bobby Darrin|title=Mack the Knife|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=1959|certyear=2023|access-date=18 December 2023}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|noshipments=true|nosales=true}}

===Ella Fitzgerald version===
{{Infobox song
| name       = Mack the Knife
| cover      = 
| alt        = 
| border     =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Ella Fitzgerald]]
| album      = [[Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife]]
| B-side     = Lorelei
| released   = April 1960
| recorded   = 13 February 1960, at [[Deutschlandhalle]], [[Berlin]]
| studio     = 
| venue      = 
| genre      = 
* [[Jazz]]
| length     = 4:42
| label      = [[Verve Records]]
| writer     = [[Kurt Weill]], [[Bertolt Brecht]]<br />[[Marc Blitzstein]] (English version)
| producer   = 
| prev_title =
| prev_year  = 
| next_title = 
| next_year  = 
}}

On 13 February 1960,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dBAkCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA77 |title=Ella Fitzgerald: An Annotated Discography; Including a Complete Discography of Chick Webb |first= J. Wilfred |last=Johnson |date= 2010|isbn=9780786446902|publisher=McFarland |page= 77}}</ref> [[Ella Fitzgerald]] performed the song live for the first time in a concert at [[Deutschlandhalle]] in Berlin. Fitzgerald, however, forgot the lyrics after the first stanza, and she improvised new lyrics, including name-checking Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin.<ref name=perone>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChjHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |title=Smash Hits: The 100 Songs That Defined America|first= James E.|last= Perone |date=2016|isbn=9781440834691|publisher=ABC-CLIO |page= 83}}</ref> The song was included on the album ''[[Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife]]'' released in July.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cR8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA23 |title=Reviews of This Week's LP's|page=23 |magazine=Billboard |date=4 July 1960}}</ref>

The song was released as a single in April 1960.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nR8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31|title=This Week's New Money Records |magazine=Billboard |date=4 April 1960 |page=31}}</ref> This version made the US Hot 100, peaking at No. 27 in June 1960.<ref>{{cite book |title= Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2013 |publisher=Record Research |page=298}}</ref> This song was Fitzgerald's best performing song in the 1960s, and she included the song in all her subsequent shows.<ref name=nicholson>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M1QSBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA190 |title=Ella Fitzgerald: A Biography of the First Lady of Jazz, Updated Edition|first= Stuart |last=Nicholson| date=2014 |isbn=9781136788147|publisher=Taylor & Francis |page= 190}}</ref>

The performance earned Fitzgerald a [[Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance]] at the [[3rd Annual Grammy Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/ella-fitzgerald/16685|title=Ella Fitzgerald|date=23 November 2020|website=GRAMMY.com}}</ref>

====Charts====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1960)
!Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|19|artist=Ella Fitzgerald|artistid=6109}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|27|artist=Ella Fitzgerald}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|6|artist=Ella Fitzgerald}}
|-
|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/19600702.html|title=The Cash Box Best-Selling Singles: Week ending June 2, 1960|website=Tropicalglen.com }}</ref>
|style="text-align:center;"|31
|-
|}

===Instrumental versions===

An instrumental version of "Mack the Knife" titled "Moritat &ndash; A Theme From "The Three Penny Opera"" was recorded by [[Dick Hyman]],<ref name=Steyn /> and it performed better than Louis Armstrong's vocal version that charted around the same time, reaching No. 9 on ''Billboard''{{'}}s Top 100.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qh8EAAAAMBAJ&q=moritat|title=The Top 100 |date= 24 March 1956|page=42 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> It also reached No. 9 on the Cashbox chart,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tropicalglen.com/Archives/50s_files/19560225.html|title=The Cash Box Best-Selling Singles: Week ending February 25, 1956|website=Tropicalglen.com }}</ref> as well as No. 9 on the UK chart in 1956.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/3257/dick-hyman-trio/ |title=Dick Hyman Trio |work=The Official Charts Company}}</ref> A number of other instrumental versions also appeared on The Top 100 at the same time: [[Richard Hayman]] and [[Jan August]] (No. 12),<ref name="billboard March17"/> [[Lawrence Welk]] (No. 31),<ref name="billboard March24">{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qh8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42|title=The Top 100 |date= 24 March 1956|page=42 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> [[Billy Vaughn]] (No. 37), and [[Les Paul and Mary Ford]] (No. 49).<ref name="billboard March17">{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8x4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44|title=The Top 100 |date= 17 March 1956|page=44 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> Billy Vaughn also reached No. 12 in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/3295/billy-vaughn/ |title=Billy Vaughn |work=The Official Charts Company}}</ref>

[[Jazz]] saxophonist [[Sonny Rollins]] recorded an instrumental version titled simply "{{lang|de|Moritat|italic=no}}" for his album ''[[Saxophone Colossus]]'', recorded in 1956.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://steemit.com/music/@fjcalduch/moritat-mack-the-knife-sonny-rollins-s-version|title=Moritat (Mack The Knife) (Sonny Rollins's version) |work=Steemit |date=23 June 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TX0_EAAAQBAJ&pg=P281 |page=281|title=The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire| first=Ted |last=Gioia |date= 2021|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190087173 }}</ref> A 1959 instrumental performance by [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] was the final song the group recorded for [[Decca Records]].<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000308951|title=The Decca Years & More – Bill Haley & His Comets|first= Bruce |last=Eder}}</ref> [[Ray Conniff]] recorded a version for orchestra and chorus in 1962 for the album, ''The Happy Beat''. [[Liberace]] performed the song in five styles: as originally written, in the style of the "[[Blue Danube Waltz]]", as a [[music box]], in a [[bossa nova]] rhythm, and in [[boogie-woogie]].<ref>{{YouTube|6wZ-nbU76rk|Liberace performs "Mack the Knife" on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''}} (note: this performance omits the music box version).</ref>

===Other versions===
[[Frank Sinatra]] added the song to his repertoire in 1984 in an arrangement by [[Frank Foster (jazz musician)|Frank Foster]];<ref name=Steyn>[https://www.steynonline.com/7344/mack-the-knife "Mack the Knife – Sinatra Song of the Century #95"] by [[Mark Steyn]], 8 December 2015</ref> In the performance included on his album ''[[L.A. Is My Lady]]'', Sinatra similarly name-checked Armstrong and Darin, as well as adding members of his backing band.<ref name=perone /> Sinatra and [[Jimmy Buffett]] recorded a duet of the song for Sinatra's final album ''[[Duets II (Frank Sinatra album)|Duets II]]'' (1994).

[[Nick Cave]] and [[Spanish Fly (band)|Spanish Fly]] performed the song for the video ''[[September Songs – The Music of Kurt Weill]]'' in 1994, released as an album in 1997.<ref name="Bambarger 9"/> while [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] and [[Dominic Muldowney]] recorded it for the 1985 tribute album ''[[Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill]]''.<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000194694|title=Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill|first=Joe|last=Viglione|access-date=18 July 2011}}</ref>

Other notable versions include performances by [[Lisa Stansfield]], [[Mark Lanegan]], [[Kenny Ball]], [[Dave Van Ronk]], [[Jimmie Dale Gilmore]], [[Tony Bennett]], [[Anita O'Day]] (in an arrangement by [[Jimmy Giuffre]]), [[Marianne Faithfull]], [[Brian Setzer]], [[Dr. John]], [[Ute Lemper]], [[King Kurt]],<ref>{{Discogs release|633562|King Kurt – Mack the Knife}} (1984)</ref> [[Bing Crosby]], [[Eartha Kitt]],<ref>{{Discogs master|494140|The Fabulous Eartha Kitt}} (1959)</ref> [[The Psychedelic Furs]], [[David Cassidy]] (in ''At the Copa''), [[Westlife]], [[The Doors]], and [[Michael Bublé]].<ref name=perone /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-violent-origins-and-chart-topping-success-of-mack-the-knife-by-bobby-darin/ |title=Behind the Violent Origins and Chart-Topping Success of "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin |first=Jay |last= McDowell |work=American Songwriters|date=1 February 2024 }}</ref> Swiss band [[The Young Gods]] radically reworked the song in [[industrial music|industrial]] style on their 1991 album ''[[The Young Gods Play Kurt Weill]]'' as "Mackie Messer", [[Deana Martin]] recorded "Mack the Knife" on her second studio album, ''[[Volare (Deana Martin album)|Volare]]'', released in 2009 by Big Fish Records. [[Robbie Williams]] recorded the song on his 2001 album ''[[Swing When You're Winning]]''.<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0002051610|titel=Swing When You're Winning – Robbie Williams}}</ref> [[Hildegard Knef]] recorded a German version, "Mackie Messer".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/mack-the-knife-lyrics-in-german-4076149 |title="Mack the Knife" Lyrics in German |work= ThoughtCo|date=24 February 2020 }}</ref>

Salsa musician [[Rubén Blades]] recorded an homage entitled "[[Pedro Navaja]]" (Razor Pete).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maestravida.com/pedronavaja.html |title=Pedro Navaja|website=MaestraVida.com |access-date=8 October 2014}}</ref> Brazilian composer [[Chico Buarque]], in his loose adaptation of ''Threepenny Opera'' ({{lang|pt|Ópera do [[Malandragem|Malandro]]}}), made two versions called "{{lang|pt|O Malandro|italic=no}}" and "{{lang|pt|O Malandro No. 2|italic=no}}", with lyrics in Portuguese.

1950s comedic legend [[Ernie Kovacs]] used a German-translated version of the song throughout his television series.<ref>{{Discogs release|1455532|The Ernie Kovacs Record Collection}} (1997)</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of 1920s jazz standards]]
* [[List of UK singles chart number ones of the 1950s]]
* [[Pedro Navaja]]
* [[Mac Tonight]], marketing figure for McDonald's in the late 1980s using this song

==References==
{{Reflist}}
'''Sources'''
*{{cite book|last=Friedwald|first=Will|author-link=Will Friedwald|title=Stardust Melodies: The Biography of Twelve of America's Most Popular Songs|year=2002|publisher=Pantheon Books|location=New York|isbn=0-375-42089-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/stardustmelodies00frie}}

==External links==
* {{YouTube|id=aPG9GcykPIY|title="Mackie Messer"}}, sung by [[Lotte Lenya]] (3:39)
* {{YouTube|id=_QXJ3OXWaOY|title=Bertolt Brecht sings "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer"|link=no}} (2:48)
* [http://www.bobbydarin.net/macklyrics.html Bobby Darin "Mack the Knife" website]
* [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2155/whats-the-story-behind-mack-the-knife "What's the story behind 'Mack the Knife'?"], [[The Straight Dope]], 1 April 2004
* {{IBDB show|8696|Threepenny Opera}}
* [http://german.about.com/library/blmus_hknef04.htm Lyrics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312122448/http://german.about.com/library/blmus_hknef04.htm |date=12 March 2016}}

{{The Threepenny Opera}}
{{Grammy Award for Record of the Year}}
{{Louis Armstrong}}
{{Bobby Darin}}
{{Lotte Lenya}}
{{Frank Sinatra singles}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1920s jazz standards]]
[[Category:1928 songs]]
[[Category:1955 singles]]
[[Category:1959 singles]]
[[Category:Atco Records singles]]
[[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Bobby Darin songs]]
[[Category:Cashbox number-one singles]]
[[Category:Columbia Records singles]]
[[Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Record of the Year]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance]]
[[Category:Jazz songs]]
[[Category:London Records singles]]
[[Category:Louis Armstrong songs]]
[[Category:Murder ballads]]
[[Category:Opera excerpts]]
[[Category:Pop standards]]
[[Category:Songs about criminals]]
[[Category:Songs from musicals]]
[[Category:Songs with music by Kurt Weill]]
[[Category:Songs with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht]]
[[Category:Songs with lyrics by Marc Blitzstein]]
[[Category:UK singles chart number-one singles]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings]]
[[Category:Verve Records singles]]