Apropos of nothing in particular...
Because I put a copy of Taco's 1983 version of Puttin' On The Ritz on a mix CD I made over the weekend, Peggy and I got to talking on the ride home tonight about just how old the song was and how it was that something that first hit the screens in the early thirties mentions Gary Cooper. So while I was assembling dinner she hit YouTube and Wikipedia and discovered that the version everyone knows -- Astaire from Blue Skies in 1948 -- is a rewrite. That's not too unusual for an Irving Berlin song; Berlin reused and rewrote his material almost as much as Jim Steinman does -- just compare the movies Holiday Inn and White Christmas.
So, curious about what it originally sounded like, we went and found the version that first appeared in the movie of the same name in 1930.
And dear god, is it racist. The version everyone knows now is about going to Park Avenue and watching the rich people all dressed up. The original version is about going to Harlem and watching poor black folks spend their last cent to put on airs and look fancy, with a not-quite-subtle air of mockery at their pretensions to being stylish.
That's all, just me venting at the shock and surprise. Nothing important here. Because, yeah, I know, Hollywood, 1930, what else should I expect? But the differences blindsided us.
Oh, and if you want to hear the very un-PC original, it is.
(And for nicer giggles, Young Frankenstein version.)
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Because I put a copy of Taco's 1983 version of Puttin' On The Ritz on a mix CD I made over the weekend, Peggy and I got to talking on the ride home tonight about just how old the song was and how it was that something that first hit the screens in the early thirties mentions Gary Cooper. So while I was assembling dinner she hit YouTube and Wikipedia and discovered that the version everyone knows -- Astaire from Blue Skies in 1948 -- is a rewrite. That's not too unusual for an Irving Berlin song; Berlin reused and rewrote his material almost as much as Jim Steinman does -- just compare the movies Holiday Inn and White Christmas.
So, curious about what it originally sounded like, we went and found the version that first appeared in the movie of the same name in 1930.
And dear god, is it racist. The version everyone knows now is about going to Park Avenue and watching the rich people all dressed up. The original version is about going to Harlem and watching poor black folks spend their last cent to put on airs and look fancy, with a not-quite-subtle air of mockery at their pretensions to being stylish.
That's all, just me venting at the shock and surprise. Nothing important here. Because, yeah, I know, Hollywood, 1930, what else should I expect? But the differences blindsided us.
Oh, and if you want to hear the very un-PC original, it is.
(And for nicer giggles, Young Frankenstein version.)
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.