Anatomy of a Song: Mack The Knife Quiz

Answer: The Threepenny Opera

"The Threepenny Opera" was written by Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill.

The play focuses on MacHeath aka. Mack the Knife, a criminal in Victorian London. He marries Polly Peachum who is the daughter of the man who controls London's beggars. He is not best pleased and tries to have MacHeath arrested and hanged. It opened in Berlin, Germany, in 1928 and was adapted from the 18th century English opera "The Beggar's Opera" by John Gay.

Answer: False

"Mack The Knife" was number one for nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 for Bobby Darin in 1959. It was number one for two weeks on the UK singles chart the same year.

Although he hit the Top Ten ten times, "Mack The Knife" was the only number one hit that Bobby Darin had on the Billboard Hot 100. He hit the Top Ten nine times and had two number one hits on the UK singles chart, with "Dream Lover" in 1959 and "Mack The Knife" in 1959.

Answer: Jack

The jackknife was the weapon of choice for old MacHeath.

Song Lyrics:

"Oh the shark babe, has such teeth dear
And it shows them, pearly white
Just a jackknife, has old MacHeath babe
And he keeps it, out of sight"

Answer: Tugboat

It doesn't say if the tugboat is in the water or in dry dock being repaired, or indeed broken up for scrap. Neither the name of the boat or the river is mentioned.

Song lyric:

"A-there's a tugboat huh, huh, huh down by the river don'tcha know".

Answer: Cement

I'm sure I have no idea what someone is doing with a bag of cement down by a river but here is the lyric:

Song lyric:

"Where a cement bag's just a'droopin' on down
Oh, that cement is just, it's there for the weight, dear
Five'll get ya ten old Macky's back in town".

Answer: Louie Miller

Cement, the disappearance of Louie Miller and his cash, may just be connected by these lyrics.

"Now, d'ya hear about Louie Miller?
He disappeared, babe
After drawin' out all his hard earned cash
And now MacHeath spends just like a sailor
Could it be our boy's done somethin' rash"

Answer: Lotte Lenya

Lotte Lenya was not only the wife of composer Kurt Weill but she was also the star of the original 1928 German production of "Die Dreigroschenoper". She also starred in the 1954 translated and adapted version of "Die Dreigroschenoper" the Off-Broadway production of "The Threepenny Opera" by Marc Blitzstein. In 1956 she won a Tony Award for her role as Jenny Diver in this production.

This Off-Broadway production also had Bea Arthur ("The Golden Girls"), Edward Asner ("Lou Grant"), John Astin ("The Addams Family"), Jerry Orbach ("Law & Order"), and Jerry Stiller ("King of Queens") as members of the cast during its run.

Lotte Lenya later portrayed Spectre agent Rosa Klebb in the 1964 James Bond movie "From Russia With Love". After trying to kill Bond, played by Sean Connery, Klebb is shot and killed with her own gun.

Answer: The Dick Hyman Trio

"Moritat" (A Theme From "The Three Penny Opera")" entered the Billboard Top 100 on the 21 Jan 1956 and peaked at number eight for The Dick Hyman Trio. It did not chart in the UK.

"A Theme From "The Three Penny Opera" ("Moritat")" entered the Billboard Top 100 on the 4 Feb 1956 and peaked at number 11 for Richard Hayman and Jan August. It did not chart in the UK.

"A Theme From ("The Three Penny Opera") "Moritat" entered the Billboard Top 100 on 4 Feb 1956 and peaked at number 37 for Billy Vaughn and His Orchestra. It did not chart in the UK.

"Moritat" (Theme From "Three Penny Opera")" entered the Billboard Top 100 on the 11 Feb 1956 and peaked at number 49 for Les Paul. It did not chart in the UK.

"Moritat" (A Theme From "The Threepenny Opera")" entered the Billboard Top 100 on the 18 Feb 1956 and peaked at number 17 for Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra. It did not chart in the UK.

Answer: Louis Armstrong

"A Theme From "The Threepenny Opera" ("Mack The Knife")" entered the Billboard Top 100 on the 11 Feb 1956 and peaked at number 20 for Louis Armstrong and His All-Stars. It peaked at number eight on the UK singles chart the same year.

Polly Peachum was one of the original four names of the women in the song when it was written. Lotte Lenya, the wife of composer Kurt Weill was added spontaneously to the lyrics of the song by Louis Armstrong. She happened to be in the studio during his recording of the song in 1955.

Just to add to the plethora of "Mack The Knife" recordings, Louis Armstrong and Lotte Lenya recorded a version of "Mack The Knife" together in 1955.

Answer: Dick Clark

Bobby Darin ignored Dick Clark's advice and recorded "Mack The Knife" for his 1959 album "That's All". Even so, Darin was reluctant to release "Mack The Knife" as a single.

Dick Clark was born Richard Augustus Wagstaff Clark, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York, USA, in 1929. He died in Santa Monica, California, USA, of a heart attack following a medical procedure in 2012 aged 82. He was an American radio and television personality who remains best known for hosting "American Bandstand" from 1957 to 1987. Sometimes known as "America's oldest teenager" because of his perennial youthful looks.