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This page lists the chart runs for songs called "Mack the Knife" in order of success. This list combines cover versions and distinct songs that happen to share the same title.
Previous Comments (newest first) 5 Nov 2011 US #1 in 1928? I don't think so. I think that it's an error to state that Bertolt Brecht's 1928 version of Mack the Knife was #1 in the U.S. Joel Whitburn's book of Billboard charts "Pop Memories 1890-1954" doesn't mention Brecht or "Mack the Knife" or "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" (the song wasn't even given English lyrics until 1933). [not truly pertinent, but the actual U.S. #1 song of 1928 was Al Jolson's "Sonny Boy"] We have some sympathy with what you say, but we think this is a perfect illustration of why a site like ours has to list complete details of all the source entries. The two charts that placed this song at number 1 (neither explicitly based on Whitburn's books) clearly felt that the original version of this classic song from 1959 was the most important song of 1928. Part of the issue is that there is so little validated chart data from the 1920s (or indeed before 1940). So a couple of top entries are sufficient to boost a song's rating to get it into the top 30, that is one of the reasons why we list so few songs for these years. We would be happy to defend the rankings of the first 15 or so entries of this particular list, but the relative ordering after number 20 is, we agree, a touch arbitrary. By providing all the information we hope to allow our users to make up their own minds, to decide which of these suggested songs are worth further investigation, and which source charts the user agrees with. Where users like yourself have, reasonable, issues with particular entries we hope to provide the links that allow you to make up your own mind. We understand your issue with this particular entry, your viewpoint is clearly well reasoned and convincing. However, since we have included these two charts we feel that we have to reflect the top song for this year from them. Of course just by adding this comment you have provided other users with the information they need to make up their own minds. Your final comment is more closely related than you suggest. It seems to us that the main reason why the Al Jolson song is number 4 in our list is that unlike the three higher entries it is not listed in the "Acclaimed Music" list. The point is that this list is, as you appreciate, an attempt to identify the most widely appreciated music. Of course for 1928 there is not enough evidence, and what there is is too focused on the US, but within those constraints we hope that you feel we've done a reasonable job. 5 Nov 2011 US #1 in 1928? I don't think so. I think that it's an error to state that Bertolt Brecht's 1928 version of Mack the Knife was #1 in the U.S. Joel Whitburn's book of Billboard charts "Pop Memories 1890-1954" doesn't mention Brecht or "Mack the Knife" or "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" (the song wasn't even given English lyrics until 1933). [not truly pertinent, but the actual U.S. #1 song of 1928 was Al Jolson's "Sonny Boy"] We have some sympathy with what you say, but we think this is a perfect illustration of why a site like ours has to list complete details of all the source entries. The two charts that placed this song at number 1 (neither explicitly based on Whitburn's books) clearly felt that the original version of this classic song from 1959 was the most important song of 1928. Part of the issue is that there is so little validated chart data from the 1920s (or indeed before 1940). So a couple of top entries are sufficient to boost a song's rating to get it into the top 30, that is one of the reasons why we list so few songs for these years. We would be happy to defend the rankings of the first 15 or so entries of this particular list, but the relative ordering after number 20 is, we agree, a touch arbitrary. By providing all the information we hope to allow our users to make up their own minds, to decide which of these suggested songs are worth further investigation, and which source charts the user agrees with. Where users like yourself have, reasonable, issues with particular entries we hope to provide the links that allow you to make up your own mind. We understand your issue with this particular entry, your viewpoint is clearly well reasoned and convincing. However, since we have included these two charts we feel that we have to reflect the top song for this year from them. Of course just by adding this comment you have provided other users with the information they need to make up their own minds. Your final comment is more closely related than you suggest. It seems to us that the main reason why the Al Jolson song is number 4 in our list is that unlike the three higher entries it is not listed in the "Acclaimed Music" list. The point is that this list is, as you appreciate, an attempt to identify the most widely appreciated music. Of course for 1928 there is not enough evidence, and what there is is too focused on the US, but within those constraints we hope that you feel we've done a reasonable job. 20 Aug 2011 Mack the Knife Where can I find the lyrics to Mack the Knife ? We don't have lyrics here, try searching for "Mack the Knife lyrics" on a search engine |