This Music in History: Puttin' On the Ritz

I was listening to some random music on my computer and I realized that I had 2 versions of this song on there (the Taco one and the Fred Astaire one), and I wondered what was up with that. So, I bring you the first installment of the Chickens! "this music in history" series.

Inspired by the Ritz hotel, "putting on the Ritz" is an old timey slang expression meaning to dress fashionably (also used to refer to something being high class or extravagant ie. "this room is very ritzy"). This popular song was first written and published in 1929 by Irving Berlin and introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film "Puttin' on the Ritz" in 1930.


Its next famous film depiction was by Clark Gable in the 1939 film Idiot's Delight.


Next we have the incomparable Fred Astaire in the 1946 film Blue Skies (note the revised lyrics)

Of course the amusing Young Frankenstein version performed by Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle in the 1974 Mel Brooks film.


Then we skip straight to the highly popular synthpop version recorded in 1982 by the one hit wonder Taco Ockerse. This baffling music video was the only music video version of this song ever made.


The most recent version is by Rufus Wainwright. He went back to a more classic version on his 2007 DVD release "Rufus! Does Judy Live at the London Palladium".