The shark has such teeth, dear: From Mackie Messer to Mack The Knife

He has travelled a long way, through space and time. Ever since his first appearance in Germany in 1928, the story of Mack The Knife has been told by many artists.

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A Change Is Gonna Come…

For almost five and a half years I have posted songs and told short stories about their backgrounds. Interesting facts, stories about songs that almost never had been recorded, songs that were covered and became hits… It was great doing that. But I do have the feeling that I need a change. The last month, there weren’t any posts – partly because I was too busy to write them, partly because I wanted to think about my blog and if I should continue doing what I was doing. The answer, you can guess, is: no.

However, I don’t want to stop blogging about music, because talking about music is one of my passions. I can talk for hours about music, playing short parts of songs to explain my point to people. And as I was doing this once again, I suddenly thought: why not transfer that idea to my blog? It then also appeared to me that I missed the connection to a bigger picture on my blog. The songs were the interesting details, but I never got to write about the whole picture itself.

So what is the idea? I will be writing about songs and music, just like before. I will keep the old stuff, but start to write longer articles about the connections between songs. The choice of songs, however, will stay as you know it: big hits, classics, but also the forgotten hits and the more obscure songs will play a role.

Stay tuned!

Chris

FlinterFile: André van Duin- Er Staat Een Paard In De Gang

André van Duin, a Dutch comedian, has made a lot of carnival hits.

FlinterFile: Arlo Guthrie- The City Of New Orleans

Arlo Guthrie wrote quite some songs, but had his only hit in the charts with a cover…

FlinterFile: Black Sabbath- Paranoid

This song was the most successful single Black Sabbath released.

FlinterFile: Brenda Russell- Piano In The Dark

Brenda Russell had her biggest pop hit in the US in 1988.

FlinterFile: The Bee Gees- Stayin’ Alive

The movie Saturday Night Fever produced four number 1 hits in the US, of which this was the second.

FlinterFile: Toontje Lager- Niemand Die Het Weet

Toontje Lager, a Dutch band, split up in 1985.

FlinterFile: Little River Band- I’ll Always Call Your Name

The Little River Band released their first album in 1975.

FlinterFile: Jonathan King- Million Dollar Bash

Bob Dylan recorded the album The Basement Tapes in 1967.

FlinterFile: Rocky Sharpe & The Replays- Imagination

Rocky Sharpe and his band The Replays released their second hit in 1979.

FlinterFile: The Lemon Pipers- Green Tambourine

The Lemon Pipers had their biggest hit in 1967.

FlinterFile: Stef Bos- Papa

Stef Bos had his first hit in 1991, with an autobiographical song.

FlinterFile: Paul Davidson- Midnight Rider

The Allman Brothers Band released the song Midnight Rider in 1971.

FlinterFile: Altered Images- I Could Be Happy

In 1982, the band Altered Images released their second album.

FlinterFile: Depeche Mode- Everything Counts

In 1983, Depeche Mode was a famous name.

FlinterFile: John Fred & His Playboy Bunny Band- Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)

In 1967, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds was a hit for the Beatles.

FlinterFile: Conny Vandenbos- De Noorderzon Scheen

In 1976, the Dutch singer Conny Vandenbos released the song De Noorderzon Scheen.

FlinterFile: Tony Joe White- Delta Love

Tony Joe White released this song in 1971.

FlinterFile: The Cars- Just What I Needed

From 1976 on, the Cars were playing live shows. However, they didn’t have a hit – yet.

FlinterFile: Desmond Dekker & the Aces- It Miek

After his big hit Israelites, Desmond Dekker released a new hit.

FlinterFile: Player- Baby Come Back

The band Player made their debut in the charts in 1978.

FlinterFile: Tol Hansse- Achter De Rhododendron

In 1977, Tol Hansse released his first album.

FlinterFile: Billy Preston- Will It Go Round In Circles

In 1973, Billy Preston released on of his two number 1 hits he had in the US.

FlinterFile: Adriano Celentano- Azzurro

In the Italian music, Paolo Conte is not unknown.

FlinterFile: Agnetha Faltskog- Can’t Shake Loose

Agnetha Fältskog (from ABBA) released her first solo album in English in 1983.

FlinterFile: The Bee Gees- How Deep Is Your Love

1978 was a very successful year for the Bee Gees, as several songs from the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever reached number 1 in the US. This one already hit the top spot at the end of 1977…

FlinterFile: Herman Finkers & Brigitte Kaandorp- Duet

In 1990 the cabaret performers Herman Finkers and Brigitte Kaandorp recorded a duet.

FlinterFile: Peter Brown- Love In Our Hearts

Peter Brown released his second album, Stargazer, in 1979.

FlinterFile: Sugarloaf- Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You

Sugarloaf had had one hit, in 1970. In 1974, they found themselves without a record label.

FlinterFile: U2- New Year’s Day

U2 had their first hit in the US with this song in 1983.

FlinterFile: Queen- Bohemian Rhapsody

In 1975, Queen released their legendarious album A Night At The Opera.

Song of the day: The Eagles- Hotel California

This classic song comes from a historic album and is probably the best known song by the Eagles.

FlinterFile: Wim Sonneveld- Het Dorp

In 1974, an older song by Wim Sonneveld was a hit.

Song of the day: Led Zeppelin- Stairway To Heaven

At the start of the seventies, Led Zeppelin were a popular band.

Song of the day: Meat Loaf- Paradise By The Dashboard Light

In 1978, Meat Loaf made his debut in the music scene with the album Bat Out Of Hell.

Song of the day: Shakin’ Stevens- Merry Christmas Everyone

Already in 1984, Shakin’ Stevens had recorded this song.

FlinterFile: The Beatles- Yesterday

This Beatles song actually is a solo song from Paul McCartney.

Song of the day: John Lennon- Imagine

John Lennon made a song with a political melody and a great melody.

FlinterFile: BLØF- Liefs Uit Londen

In 1998, the band Bløf released their first single.

FlinterFile: Simon & Garfunkel- Bridge Over Troubled Water

This song could be seen as the masterpiece of Simon & Garfunkel, though Paul Simon didn’t sing on it.

Song of the day: Procol Harum- A Whiter Shade Of Pale

Gary Brooker and Keith Reid formed the group Procol Harum in 1967, the year they released their biggest hit – and instant classic.

FlinterFile: The Doors- Riders On The Storm

This song was the last song the Doors ever recorded with Jim Morrison – he died a few weeks later in 1971.

FlinterFile: Billy Joel- Goodnight Saigon

Billy Joel wrote a political song in 1983.

FlinterFile: The Amazing Stroopwafels- Oude Maasweg

Probably one of the most beautiful, if not the best, Dutch song ever made.

FlinterFile: ABBA- Dancing Queen

Some songs don’t need an introduction anymore, and I think this is one of them.

FlinterFile: Pink Floyd- Money

Pink Floyd released their famous album Dark Side Of The Moon in 1973.

FlinterFile: U2- The Unforgettable Fire

When U2 was touring in 1983, they didn’t only play concerts.

FlinterFile: Dire Straits- Sultans Of Swing

The Dire Straits released their first single in 1978.

FlinterFile: Klein Orkest- Over De Muur

Through the years, the Berlin Wall has inspired many artists for their songs.