Song · Taco
“Puttin' On The Ritz” by Taco
From the album After Eight (1982)
“Puttin' On The Ritz” by Taco appears on 9 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1999 and 2021. It was first released in 1982 on the album After Eight. Its best result is #753 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,425 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Taco). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Puttin' On the Ritz" is an Irving Berlin standard from the late 1920s, a song about dressing to the nines named for the plush Ritz Hotel in London, and in 1982 the Dutch singer Taco dragged it onto the dance floor as a synth-pop novelty on his album After Eight. Once linked with Harry Richman and Fred Astaire, and revived by Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle in Young Frankenstein, the tune got a chilly electronic makeover here, with Taco crooning in a debonair drawl over bleeping keyboards and even adding his own tap dancing.
The video went into rotation on MTV and other music video channels, and the cover turned into a Top 10 hit in the United States, Canada and a good chunk of Europe.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1044 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1044 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1049 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1049 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 1034 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2003 | 1900 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2004 | 1034 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 1034 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2021 | 753 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
Also listed as: Puttin' on the Ritz.
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Puttin' On The Ritz" by Taco.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.