Taco - Puttin' On The Ritz

"Puttin' On the Ritz" is a synth-pop cover of Irving Berlin's 1929 jazz standard, reimagined by Dutch musician Taco (real name Taco Ockerse) in 1982. Released as the lead single from his album After Eight, it blends 1980s electronic production with nostalgic 1930s flair, featuring Taco's smooth vocals, a tap-dance break, and lyrics celebrating high-society glamour and faux-wealthy pretense. The track became Taco's signature hit, topping charts in Sweden and New Zealand while reaching No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100, marking his only major American success and earning him "one-hit wonder" status.

Story and Themes

The song's narrative follows the idiom "puttin' on the Ritz"—dressing in upscale finery to mingle with the elite, even if one's means don't match the look. Lyrics paint vivid scenes of dapper dandies in striped pants and cutaway coats strutting down Park Avenue or Lenox Avenue, "dressed up like a million-dollar trouper" and trying to "look like Gary Cooper." It's a lighthearted ode to aspiration and social climbing, evoking the Roaring Twenties' flash while critiquing performative wealth. Taco's version modernizes the original's Harlem parade references (later softened in revivals) with a playful, upbeat tempo that nods to Fred Astaire's 1946 film rendition in Blue Skies.

Music Video Synopsis

Directed by Jean-Pierre Berckmans, the 1983 music video is a campy, black-and-white homage to 1930s Hollywood musicals, with surreal twists. Taco, clad in a tuxedo and top hat, leads a troupe of top-hatted gangsters and chorus girls through lavish ballroom dances and comedic chases. Key scenes include synchronized tap routines on grand staircases, a high-society party descending into chaos with acrobatic flips and pratfalls, and cameos like a penguin waiter and a monocled butler. The original edit controversially featured blackface elements (now edited or banned on many platforms), but the core story revolves around Taco as a suave showman orchestrating a whirlwind of elegance and absurdity. Clocking in at about 4 minutes, it's a visually extravagant time capsule of '80s MTV excess.