"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 gives Gary Cooper as an example of someone who puts on the Ritz. For other uses, see Pop music (disambiguation). ... See also: 1928 in music, other events of 1929, 1930 in music and the list of years in music. // Events May 3 - Francis Poulencs Concert champêtre for harpsichord and orchestra is premiered in Paris May 17 - Sergei Prokofievs Symphony No. ... Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most prodigious and famous American songwriters in history. ... Harry Richman (10 August 1895 - 3 November 1972) was a United States entertainer. ... For other uses, see Slang (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Ritz (disambiguation). ... Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper May 7, 1901 – May 13, 1961) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor of English heritage. ...

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. Berlin later revised the lyrics to apply to affluent whites strutting "up and down Park Avenue".^[1] Other lyric changes included: Though most indigenous Africans possess relatively dark skin, they exhibit much variation in physical appearance. ... For other uses, see Harlem (disambiguation). ... Lenox Avenue / Malcolm X Boulevard is the primary north-south route through Harlem in the upper portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. ... Park Avenue in the Upper East Side (2004) Park Avenue, looking north toward the Metlife building from the Union Square Area Park Avenue (formerly Fourth Avenue) is a wide boulevard that carries traffic north and south in Manhattan in New York City. ...

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 Rockerfellers 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. A 12-inch record (left), a 7-inch record (right), and a CD (above) Two 7 singles (left), two colored 7 singles (middle), and two 7 singles with large spindle holes (right). ... Harry Richman (10 August 1895 - 3 November 1972) was a United States entertainer. ... Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987), born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska,[1] was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. ...

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 memorable and 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 New Wave 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 theme to Steve Martin's character's transformation into a "sophisticated" con artist at the hands of Michael Caine in the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
• Wooster performs Berlin's song to Jeeves, blundering over the syncopation in the chorus line, in the episode of Jeeves and Wooster titled "Bridegroom Wanted!"
• 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.
• A rendition by the a cappella group The Harvard Din & Tonics.^{[citation needed]}
• Shiny Toy Guns recorded a cover of the song, closer to the style of the version by Taco Ockerse.
• Ella Fitzgerald recorded a version for her 1958 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook.

Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed during the 1920s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States. ... Benny Goodman, born Benjamin David Goodman[1] , (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American jazz musician and virtuoso clarinetist, known as King of Swing, Patriarch of the Clarinet, The Professor, and Swings Senior Statesman. // Goodman was born in Chicago, the ninth of twelve children of poor Jewish... William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Idiots Delight is a play by Robert E. Sherwood. ... Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987), born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska,[1] was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Blue Skies is a 1946 musical film. ... Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933) is an American actor who is best known for his role as Willy Wonka, his collaborations with Mel Brooks in Blazing Saddles, The Producers, and Young Frankenstein, and his four movies with Richard Pryor: Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, See No Evil... Peter Lawrence Boyle (October 18, 1935 – December 12, 2006)[1][2] was an Emmy Award-winning American actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. ... Mel Brooks (born June 28, 1926) is an Academy Award-winning American director, writer, comedian, actor and producer best known as a creator of broad film farces and comedy parodies. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... For the musical, see Young Frankenstein (musical). ... Young Frankenstein is a musical with a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan and music and lyrics by Brooks. ... New Wave was a pop and rock music genre that existed during the late 1970s and the early-to-mid 1980s. ... Taco Ockerse (born 21 July 1955) is a singer popularly known as Taco. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... VH1 (VH-1: Video Hits One until 1994) is an American cable television channel that was created in January 1985 by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communications and owners of MTV. VH1 and sister channel MTV are currently part of the MTV Networks division... For other uses, see Steve Martin (disambiguation). ... This article is about the English actor. ... Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a 1988 comedy film directed by Frank Oz and starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine as the con artists of the title. ... In music, syncopation is when a stressing of a normally unstressed beat in a bar or failure to sound a tone on an accented beat occurs. ... Jeeves and Wooster is a humorous television series adapted by Clive Exton from P.G. Wodehouses Jeeves stories, and produced by Carnival Films for Granada Television, and screened on the United Kingdoms ITV network from 1990 to 1993. ... Gift of Gab (right) with fellow Blackalicious member Chief Xcel The Gift of Gab (born Tim Parker) is the MC for the California hip-hop duo Blackalicious, and a member of Quannum Projects (along with Chief Xcel, DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born and Lateef). ... Blackalicious is an American alternative hip hop duo. ... 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up is The Gift of Gabs first solo album, released in 2004. ... Onkel Kånkel are prominently known for their provocative lyrics where they make fun of everything from homosexuals and pedophiles to Nazis and handicapped people. ... The Harvard Din & Tonics symbol - white tie, tails and all The Harvard Din & Tonics (or Dins, as they are affectionately known) are a world-renowned 14-voice male jazz a cappella group formed in 1979. ... Shiny Toy Guns is an American electronica/indie/rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 2002. ... Taco Ockerse (born 21 July 1955) is a singer popularly known as Taco. ... Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as Lady Ella and the First Lady of Song, is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th Century. ... Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook is a 1958 album by the American Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, focusing on the songs of Irving Berlin. ...

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. This article is about motion pictures. ... See also: 1929 in film 1930 1931 in film 1930s in film 1920s in film years in film film // Events Top grossing films The Indians Are Coming Madam Satan Der Blaue Engel Academy Awards Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front - Universal Studios Best Actress: Norma Shearer - The Divorcee... The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. ... Sloman directed the 1928 Universal Pictures film The Foreign Legion, starring actors Mary Nolan (centre), Norman Kerry (right) and June Marlowe (left). ... Harry Richman (10 August 1895 - 3 November 1972) was a United States entertainer. ... Joan Bennett on the December, 1945 issue of Movie Story Magazine Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American film actress who also achieved success later in life as a television actress. ... James Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959) was an American actor born in New York City. ...

References

External links

• Puttin' on the Ritz on Last.fm
• Swing Thing cover (MP3)
• Puttin' on the Ritz at the Internet Movie Database