Puttin’ on the Ritz
“Puttin’ on the Ritz” is a popular song written and published in 1929 by Irving Berlin and introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film Puttin’ on the Ritz (1930). The title derives from the slang expression “putting on the Ritz,” meaning to dress very fashionably. The expression was inspired by the swanky Ritz Hotel.
The song is in AABA form, with a verse. According to John Mueller, the central device in the A section is the “use of delayed rhythmic resolution: a staggering, off-balance passage, emphasized by the unorthodox stresses in the lyric, suddenly resolves satisfyingly on a held note, followed by the forceful assertion of the title phrase.” The marchlike B section, which is only barely syncopated, acts as a contrast to the previous rhythmic complexities. According to Alec Wilder, in his study of American popular song, the rhythmic pattern in “Puttin’ on the Ritz” is “the most complex and provocative I have ever come upon.”
Fred Astaire and a chorus of Fred Astaires performing “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in Blue Skies (1946)
The original version of Berlin’s song included references to the then-popular fad of well-dressed but poor black Harlemites parading up and down Lenox Avenue. For the film Blue Skies (1946), where it was performed by Fred Astaire, Berlin revised the lyrics to apply to affluent whites strutting “up and down Park Avenue.” Other lyric changes included:
Original: Spangled gowns upon the bevy of high browns from down the levee, all misfits
Revised: Different types who wear a day coat, pants with stripes and cut away coat, perfect fits
Original: That’s where each and ev’ry Lulu-Belle goes, ev’ry Thursday evening with her swell beaus
Revised: Dressed up like a million dollar trouper, trying hard to look like Gary Cooper
Original: Come with me and we’ll attend the jubilee, and see them spend their last two bits
Revised: Come, let’s mix where Rockefellers walk with sticks, or umber-ellas In their mitts
Hit phonograph records of the tune in its original popularity of 1929-1930 were recorded by Harry Richman and Fred Astaire.
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Various covers
This tune has enjoyed a number of revivals including:
- A hit swing music version by Benny Goodman
- A classic routine by Clark Gable in 1939’s Idiot’s Delight
- A song and dance number performed by Fred Astaire in the 1946 film Blue Skies using the revised lyrics
- A humorous version (performed by Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle) used in Mel Brooks’ 1974 film Young Frankenstein and would later be used in the 2007 musical adaptation of the same name.
- A return to the hit parade with a Synthpop version by Taco Ockerse recorded in 1982, reaching #4 on the American Billboard’s Pop Chart. This version was ranked #79 in VH1’s 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders.
- The melody line is used loosely in the track “The Writz” by The Gift of Gab (of Blackalicious fame) on the 2004 album 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up
- The infamous Swedish band Onkel Kånkel recorded their version as Puttin On The Fritz.
- Shiny Toy Guns recorded a cover of the song, closer to the style of the version by Taco Ockerse.
- Judy Garland sang it in many of her concerts, the most notable appearing on her Judy At Carnegie Hall album.
- Rufus Wainwright sang it on June 4 & 15, 2006, at Carnegie Hall when he re-created Judy Garland’s famous concert there in 1961 (see note above). The CD album of this concert is titled Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall.
- Ella Fitzgerald recorded a version for her 1958 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook.
- Blake Lewis borrowed and reformed the melody of Irving Berlin’s original to create a mixed song titled “Gots To Get Her” on his album A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream).
- Philippine rock band Kenyo covered this song on their album ‘Radiosurfing’.
1930 movie
Promotional poster from the 1930 movie
The first of many movies to feature the number was the 1930 film titled Puttin’ on the Ritz. The musical film was directed by Edward Sloman and starred Harry Richman, Joan Bennett, and James Gleason.
References
- ^ a b Mueller, John (1986). Astaire Dancing - The Musical Films. London: Hamish Hamilton, p.267. ISBN 0-241-11749-6.
- ^ Mueller, p.267, quoting Wilder
- ^ Mueller, p.267: “In the original version it told of the ritzy airs of Harlemites parading up and down Lenox Avenue. For the 1946 film, the strutters became well-to-do whites on Park Avenue. The patronizing, yet admiring satire of the song is shifted, then, and mellowed in the process. The change may have had to do with changing attitudes towards race and with Hollywood’s dawning wariness about offending blacks.”