The story behind puzzle No. 47
Ella Fitzgerald · Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife · Verve · 1960
Ella Fitzgerald forgot the words in front of a Berlin audience, kept singing anyway, and won Grammy Awards for the result.
Fitzgerald sang Mack the Knife at the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin on February 13, 1960, backed by Paul Smith on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass and Gus Johnson on drums.
Verve released it as a single in April 1960 and on the album Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife that July. It earned her Grammys at the 3rd Annual Grammy Awards, and the album entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Mack the Knife began in Germany as a murder ballad in The Threepenny Opera, the 1928 musical by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. Marc Blitzstein's English translation, written for a 1954 production, is the basis for most popular versions.
After the first verse, the lyrics escape her. She keeps swinging and makes up new words on the spot, even name-checking Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin.
Listen to the crowd react as she turns the mistake into the best part of the show.
Who's on it
Keep listening
Go back to Cheek to Cheek (puzzle No. 30) to hear Ella in the studio with Louis Armstrong.
As an Amazon Associate, Liner Note earns from qualifying purchases.