Irving Berlin month hits the homestretch with a song he wrote in 1927. I’m passing on the Putin on the Ritz jokes. This is a Carefree feature like the Astaire-Rogers-Berlin movie of that title. Putin is the opposite. Ugh, just ugh.
Puttin’ On The Ritz is one of Berlin’s jazzier compositions. It ended up in the Crosby-Astaire movie Blue Skies, which was a landing place for many venerable Berlin songs.
We begin with Fred Astaire and Oscar Peterson:
Here’s a swinging version from Ella Fitzgerald and the Buddy Bregman Orchestra.
Mel Tormé gets dressed up like a million-dollar trooper in this version.
A reggae version from the Mighty Diamonds:
It’s Taco Friday with this synth pop take on the Berlin classic.
Finally, Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle in one of the funniest scenes in one of the funniest films ever made.
What would a Friday Cocktail Hour be without a jazz instrumental of the week’s song? This time, the Benny Goodman trio followed by two fiddlers: Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli.
That’s it for this week. Let’s toast the 186 plus artists who have recorded this week’s tune. It’s what Fred and Bing would want. Never argue with them.
