Who doesn’t love Taco’s Puttin On the Ritz?

The thing I liked about music video television was the act of discovery. Yes, sometimes it is lame, but sometimes it could be magical. I was sitting in front of the TV one day in the 1980s when Taco’s Puttin on the Ritz came on. The experience was mesmerizing.

I had heard the song before in older movies and of course in Young Frankenstein, but in no way did I ever expect it to be “updated”. Nor did I expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The update was catchy and odd. Just the type of thing I like, and the music video was in heavy rotation. Whenever it was on, I would run into the living room to watch it.

Still, even then I would scratch my head and wonder, “how is this successful?” Then Taco would start singing, and I would get a glimpse of that amazing neon cane of his, and the switch was flipped. I would start smiling, and before you knew it, I was singing along.

Really only one way to explain it, “Pure Taco magic.”

Watch the music video for Taco Puttin On the Ritz

Just want to re-state my love for that neon cane. As a kid, I was obsessed with canes and would pull them out of the neighborhood trash cans. Eventually, I had quite a collection. I would have traded all of them for one night playing with Taco’s neon cane. It was and still is the king of light-up canes.