The song was originally intended for singer Bobby Darin as a follow-up to his hit single Mack the Knife, but after seeing Newton perform at the Copacabana, Darin decided to give the song to Newton and transposed the key of the recording to fit Newton's voice.
According to BBC producer Simon Elmes, he gained the nickname "Mack the Knife" due to his programme of cuts and abrasive style of governance, described by producer Piers Plowright as "ruthless".
Two years before, Gerron originated the role of "Tiger" Brown in the 1928 premiere production of The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) at the Berlin Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, in which he also performed "Mack the Knife".
The film contains many references to German culture, such as to Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther and in the film a vinyl record with the German song about Mack the Knife written by Bertolt Brecht is played.
Although McCamus proved sufficiently popular that he appeared in every episode of the first season, something that was not originally planned, he quit the show to star as Richard III and Mack the Knife at the Stratford Festival.
Mack Brown | Mack Sennett | Connie Mack | Mack the Knife | Bowie knife | Ted Mack | Shonen Knife | Mack Trucks | Mack Rhoades | Mack 10 | Mack | Lonnie Mack | Knife in the Water | The Knife | Reinhold Mack | Mack Reynolds | Mack Harrell | Connie Mack (baseball) | Lee Mack | Connie Mack III | Yusaf Mack | The Big Knife | Robert "Mack" McCormick | Mack Gordon | Ludwig Hirschfeld Mack | Knife Party | Knife Edge | knife | Battle of Cut Knife | Andre Mack |
One of Fitzgerald's most acclaimed live performances, at this concert in Berlin, Fitzgerald improvised lyrics for "Mack the Knife" after forgetting the original lyrics.
The album's title refers to Fitzgerald's more famous concert in Berlin a year earlier (Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife), which had included her famous rendition of Mack the Knife, which earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance (Single).
The chorus to the song is an allusion to the lyrics of "Mack the Knife", a song written by Berthold Brecht for his play The Threepenny Opera.
She was one of the first to interpret The Threepenny Opera by Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weill, with lyrics adapted into French by André Mauprey, for instance singing La complainte de Mackie (a song English speakers know as Mack the Knife) and Pirate Jenny.