Precious Pop Pearls: The story behind Taco – “Puttin’ on the Ritz”
In the summer of 1983, an unexpected sound emerged from radios worldwide. A mysterious artist named Taco had transformed a 1929 classic into a futuristic synth-pop hymn. “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, originally written by Irving Berlin, received such a radical makeover that the song stormed the charts again, more than fifty years after its first version.
Taco Ockerse
Taco Ockerse was born on 21 July 1955 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Dutch parents and spent his youth travelling around the world due to his father’s work. He lived successively in the Netherlands, the United States, Singapore, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany. This nomadic youth would later influence his cosmopolitan musical style.
Taco moved to Germany in 1974, graduated from the acting academy in Hamburg, and developed his unique act. He made his name on the European supper-club circuit by dressing in formal attire and performing danceable versions of American standards. This theatrical approach, combining classic songs with modern dance and entertainment, would form the basis for his later breakthrough.
“Puttin’ on the Ritz”
In 1981, Taco signed his first record contract with Polydor in West Germany for two releases. His choice for a debut single was bold: a reinterpretation of Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz” from 1929. The original version of this song became particularly well-known through Fred Astaire in the 1930s and 1940s.
Taco’s version contained interpolations of other Berlin compositions such as “Always”, “White Christmas”, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, and “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, creating a true homage to the American Songbook. The song was released in the United States via RCA Records, but Taco forgot about his album and continued with his theatre performances.
After an unexpected number one in Sweden, Taco was called to fly urgently to Stockholm for a performance, and in September 1983, the song reached number 4 on the American Billboard Hot 100 and even number 1 on the Cashbox chart. The single eventually earned a gold disc in the United States for sales of more than one million copies, an achievement accomplished by only four other Dutch artists. Worldwide, the song reached the Top 10 in nine countries, proving the universal appeal of Taco’s idiosyncratic interpretation.
The year 1983 was crucial for the synth-pop movement. Whilst artists like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, and New Order explored the boundaries of electronic music, Taco succeeded in combining these modern influences with a fifty-year-old standard. This approach fitted perfectly into the musical landscape of the early 1980s, when producers and artists experimented with synthesisers and drum machines.
Taco’s version was radically different from earlier interpretations. Where Astaire’s version was elegant and refined, Taco brought a theatrical energy that suited the MTV generation. The production combined pulsating synthesisers with a rousing rhythm, whilst Taco’s vocal technique was both dramatic and playful.
“After Eight”
“Puttin’ on the Ritz” came from Taco’s debut album “After Eight”. The album, released in 1982 by RCA Records, contained six covers of classic pop songs and five original compositions that Taco had co-written. The album reached number 23 on the Billboard 200.
The album title “After Eight” referred to the famous chocolates and reflected Taco’s preference for refined yet accessible entertainment. Besides “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, the album also contained a version of “Singin’ in the Rain”, which was released as a follow-up but was much less commercially successful.
Irving Berlin
Although “Puttin’ on the Ritz” became Taco’s greatest commercial success, he also had a modest hit with “Cheek to Cheek”, also an Irving Berlin classic from 1935. This follow-up single didn’t achieve the success of his breakthrough hit, but showed that Taco’s approach to reinterpreting American standards could yield more than just a one-off success.
In 1983 and 1984, Taco toured extensively throughout Europe, where his theatrical act was better understood and appreciated. His European success lasted longer than in America, where his eccentric style was perhaps too strange for the mainstream.
Theatrical Video Clip
The music video for “Puttin’ on the Ritz” was directed by Jean-Pierre Berckmans and was as striking as the song itself. The original version of the video contained characters in blackface, a theatrical convention dating back to minstrel shows and vaudeville traditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This style was part of the Art Deco movement and the Jazz Age era in the 1920s.
Blackface was used in that period as an artistic and stylistic device within Art Deco and Jazz Age aesthetics. Irving Berlin’s original “Puttin’ On the Ritz” from 1930 was, according to The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin, even the first film track sung by an interracial ensemble. Taco’s video referenced this theatrical tradition of the original era, although this led to controversy and censorship on many networks, with an alternative version that eliminated many of these shots. Various people found it a racist element, which according to Taco, himself of mixed blood, it absolutely was not. To maintain peace, a new video was recorded nonetheless.
Although “Puttin’ on the Ritz” became Taco’s greatest commercial success, he remained active in the music world. He still regularly releases music and performs frequently. He has lived in Germany since 1974, and his presentation has remained largely the same: formal clothing, theatrical presentation, and a mix of classics and original material.
Taco’s version of “Puttin’ On The Ritz” has found new life in popular culture and was used in the 2013 thriller “The Call”. The song remains a favourite at nostalgia parties and is still played on radio stations focusing on the 1980s. Recently, he has even made an unexpected comeback on social media, where his theatrical style has managed to captivate a new generation.
Timeless
The story of Taco’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz” is one of artistic courage and perfect timing. The song proves that great pop music is timeless and can always be reinvented for new generations.
When Irving Berlin wrote “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, he could never have guessed that the most successful performance would come more than 50 years later, thanks to Taco. The Dutch artist managed to capture a moment in time when the past and future met on the dance floor, creating an unforgettable gem of pop music.
Taco’s success may have been short-lived, but the impact was lasting. “Puttin’ on the Ritz” remains a perfect snapshot of the early 1980s, when everything seemed possible and musicians weren’t afraid to push boundaries. In an era when retromania dominates the music world, Taco’s approach feels surprisingly modern, as if he was decades ahead of the trend of rediscovering and reinterpreting classics.
