[MACK THE KNIFE{1}] Written by: Originally, Bertolt Brecht (words-German) & Kurt Weil (music)-1928, Marc Blitzstein (words-English) Performed by: Bobby Darin{2}-1959 Appears on: That's All-1959, Darin at the Copa-1960, Live! At the Desert Inn-1971, Greatest Hits-1985, The Ultimate Bobby Darin-1988, Mack the Knife (1958-1961)-1991, Dream Lover-1997, Swing An' Slow-2006, et al.

{1}"Mack the Knife" was the opening number from the musical, "Three Penny Opera," the English-language version of, "Die Dreigroschenoper," which premiered in Berlin, Germany, in August of 1928.

{2}Other notable covers include: Louis Armstrong-1929, Ella Fitzgerald-1949, The Dick Hayman Trio-1956, Frank Sinatra-1960, Marianne Faithfull-1997, Lisa Stansfield-1999, Brian Setzer Orchestra-2000, Jimmy Dale Gilmore-2000, Michael Bublé-2001, Robbie Williams-2001, Westlife-2004.

{3}Macheath and Mackie Messer are the names of the character in the play in both English and German, respectively. It's evident where the "Mack" come from. In the play, Macheath marries Polly Peachum. This displeases her father, who controls the beggars of London, and he endeavours to have Macheath hanged. But his moves are hindered by the fact that the chief of police, Tiger Brown, is Macheath's childhood friend. Still, Peachum exerts his influence and eventually gets Macheath arrested and sentenced to hang. Moments before the execution, a hard-riding messenger from the "Queen" arrives to pardon Macheath and grant him a baronetcy.

{4}Lotte Leyna, well-known Austrian singer and wife of composer Kurt Weil, appeared in a supporting role in "Die Dreigroschenoper." (See {1} above.)