Harry Richman - Puttin On The Ritz

Putting On The Ritz was written by Irving Berlin in 1929, and in 1930 the song was introduced by actor and entertainer Harry Richman in the movie Putting On The Ritz. Richman's recording of the song was also released on a record, and later the same year Fred Astaire released a recording of the song too. In the 1930's the Richman version of the song was the #1 selling record in America. The title of the song comes from the slang expression which means to dress fashionably go party - the Ritz references the swanky Ritz Hotel in London, England. The hotel that opened in 1906 was one of the first large steel frame structures in London.