Damia - Mackie Messer / La Complainte de Mackie (1931) video

"Die Dreigroschenoper / Lopéra de Quat'sous" also struck a chord in France.... The 1931 movie adaptation by GW Pabst was made in both German and French. Many popular French singers recorded the songs from "Lopéra de Quat' Sous". Best known are the recordings by Florelle (1898-1974) - who starred as Polly in the movie version and Lys Gauty (1908-1994). Gauty's recordings for the Columbia label are considered among the best and they earned her the "Grand Prix du Disque" in 1932 - much to Florelle's dismay.... The great French singer Damia (1889-1978) recorded her version of "Mackie Messer / La complainte de Mackie" equally for Columbia in 1931. It is one of her lesser known recordings - her big hit that year being "Tu ne sais pas aimer" - so I am very happy to present it here. As we can expect she does not merely sing the song - true to her reputation of "Tragédienne de la chanson" she lives it! "Mackie Messer" (Moritat) is probaly the most recognisable song of the "Dreigroschenoper". Since its creation in 1928 it has been recorded by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Hildegarde Knef, Ute Lemper and Sting. The video shows : Images of Damia from personal collection (taken from sheet music and magazines) as well as a newsreel clip showing Damia while performing ("Tu ne sais pas aimer"). About the record : Columbia DF 568 / mx. L3184 The record is in very good condition for its age but does produce quite a bit of surface noise. Recorded 1931Transferred without modification ...