Mack the Knife

Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht wrote this song in 1928 for the German play The Threepenny Opera. "Mack" is Macheath, the title character, portrayed as a criminal. The light melody can make this feel like an upbeat song, but it contrasts sharply with the lyrics, which are about a murderer.

Darin decided to perform this song when he saw a production of The Threepenny Opera in Greenwich Village in 1958. He thought up his own way of presenting the song, and started performing it in his nightclub act, where it was well received. The song was included on Darin's album That's All, which was released in March 1959. In May of that year, Darin's "Dream Lover" became a huge hit, and demand was building for "Mack The Knife," which was growing increasingly popular thanks to Darin's nightclub performances and sales of the album. Darin, however, had a teen idol image to uphold, and a song from the '20s about a murderous sot could derail that train quickly. He was recording for Atlantic Records, who made lots of good decisions, and label boss Ahmet Ertegun ordered it released as a single. Finally, in late August, the single came out and was a massive hit. Whatever teen idol cred Darin scrubbed, he more than made up for in adult appeal, as the song introduced him to an audience that went well beyond "Splish Splash." He became a regular on various TV shows, played a lot of high-end resorts and became the youngest headliner at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, where he was once a busboy. The song's success also earned him a second spot on The Ed Sullivan Show, where he made a total of six appearances.

This was a US Top 40 hit for seven different artists: The Dick Hyman Trio (#8, 1956) Richard Hayman and Jan August (#11, 1956) Lawrence Welk (#17, 1956) Louis Armstrong (#20, 1956) Billy Vaughn (#37, 1956) Bobby Darin (#1, 1959) Ella Fitzgerald (#27, 1960) The first three versions are instrumentals; Armstrong was the first to chart with a vocal rendition. The electric guitar innovator Les Paul also cracked the Hot 100 with the song in 1956, peaking at #49 with his guitar instrumental.