"Puttin' On the Ritz"

"Puttin' On the Ritz"
Name	Puttin' On the Ritz
Artist	Irving Berlin
Written	1927
Published	1929
Genre	Pop, Tin Pan Alley
Writer	Irving Berlin

"Puttin' On the Ritz" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin in 1927 and published in 1929. The song traversed Tin Pan Alley, Broadway revues, Hollywood musicals, and international popular music scenes, earning interpretations by performers from Fred Astaire to Taco. Its catchy melody and urbane lyrics made it a staple of American Songbook repertoires and a subject of recurrent legal, racial, and cultural debate involving entertainers, producers, and recording companies.

Background and composition

Berlin composed the tune during the late 1920s, a period marked by the influence of Tin Pan Alley, the rise of Vaudeville, and the expansion of Columbia Records and Victor Talking Machine Company. The song was conceived amid contemporaneous works by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and Richard Rodgers, and it reflects the urban imagery celebrated in New York City nightlife and Times Square entertainment. Berlin's writing drew on his experience with Ziegfeld Follies, collaborations with figures such as Florenz Ziegfeld, and the commercial strategies of publishers like Harms, Inc. and Chappell & Co.. Early arrangements referenced orchestrators linked to Paul Whiteman, Ferde Grofé, and studio orchestras used in Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions.

Lyrics and musical structure

The lyric juxtaposes metropolitan aspiration with genteel affectation, a motif also found in songs by Irving Berlin contemporaries including Jerome Kern and Cole Porter. Harmonically the tune employs standard popular forms of the era, comparable to sequences used by George Gershwin in Rhapsody in Blue and by Irving Berlin in other standards like White Christmas. The song's structure uses an AABA 32-bar popular song form familiar to arrangers such as Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington, and the orchestration often features reed and brass voicings associated with Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. Lyric imagery references social locales akin to Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue, and leisure practices connected to Coney Island and Harlem nightlife, invoking performers and patrons of venues like The Cotton Club and The Palace Theatre.

Original recordings and early performances

Initial recordings and stage performances connected the work to artists and institutions including Irving Berlin, Eddie Cantor, Fred Astaire, and orchestras contracted by Victor. Early vaudeville and Broadway presentations brought the song into productions associated with producers such as Florenz Ziegfeld and impresarios from Shubert Organization. Radio broadcasts on networks like NBC and CBS amplified early renditions by bands linked to Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, and vocalists affiliated with RCA Victor and Decca Records. The song's diffusion intersected with film appearances in Hollywood musicals produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures, where choreographers and directors from Busby Berkeley to Stanley Donen shaped staging conventions.

Notable cover versions and adaptations

Notable interpreters include Fred Astaire, whose performances connected the tune to RKO Radio Pictures and Hollywood choreography traditions; Eddie Cantor in vaudeville and radio; and the 1980s synth-pop cover by Taco, which linked the song to MTV airplay and European pop charts. Jazz adaptations were recorded by Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and vocalists like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday, each situating the song within swing, big band, and vocal jazz canons. Film, television, and stage revivals featured the song in productions involving Billy Wilder, Stanley Donen, Woody Allen, and contemporary revivals on Broadway and in West End shows produced by organizations like the Royal Shakespeare Company and commercial producers such as the Nederlander Organization.

Chart performance and commercial reception

Commercially, the song achieved success across multiple periods: original sheet music sales in the late 1920s and 1930s competed with hits by George Gershwin and Cole Porter; subsequent recordings charted on lists maintained by Billboard and radio playlists influenced by Variety and Cash Box. The 1982 cover by Taco reached charts in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and other European markets, while earlier recordings by orchestras on RCA Victor and Decca Records registered significant jukebox and radio play during the swing era. Licensing for film and television placed the song in catalogs handled by entities like ASCAP and BMI, involving negotiations with record labels including Columbia Records and Warner Bros. Records.

Cultural impact and controversies

The song has been at the center of debates about racial representation and performance practice, notably in contexts involving blackface, minstrel traditions linked to early 20th-century entertainment, and later reinterpretations by artists mindful of civil rights movements such as those led by figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and organizations like the NAACP. Controversies arose when certain staging choices evoked stereotypes contested by civil-rights activists and scholars of American popular culture. Legal disputes over rights and royalties involved publishers and corporations such as Irving Berlin, Inc., Chappell & Co., and recording companies like RCA Victor, with litigation referencing norms established in cases heard in courts connected to United States Court of Appeals panels and copyright offices.

Legacy and influence in media

The song remains part of the Great American Songbook and is used in film, television, advertising, and stage revivals, cited alongside enduring works by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and Lorenz Hart. It has informed choreography in productions tied to choreographers like Bob Fosse and Busby Berkeley, influenced arrangements adopted by big bands led by Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, and been sampled or referenced in recordings by contemporary artists associated with labels such as Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. Institutions including the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution have preserved early recordings and manuscripts, ensuring the song's place in scholarly discourses on American popular music, performance studies, and media history.

Category:Songs written by Irving Berlin Category:1929 songs