Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens

"Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" is a jump blues song, written by Alex Kramer and Joan Whitney.[1] Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five recorded the song on June 26, 1946, and Decca Records released it on a 78 rpm record.[1] It was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013.[2]

"Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens"
Single by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five
A-side"Let the Good Times Roll"
Released1946 (1946)
RecordedJune 26, 1946[1]
GenreJump blues
Length3:02
LabelDecca
Songwriter(s)Joan Whitney Kramer, Alex Kramer

The single debuted on Billboard magazine's Rhythm and Blues Records Chart on December 14, 1946.[3] It reached number one and remained at the top position for seventeen weeks, longer than any other Jordan single.[3] It also reached number six on the broader Billboard Best-Selling Popular Retail Records chart.[3] The flip side, "Let the Good Times Roll", peaked at number two on the R&B chart.[3]

Jordan's hit song popularized the expression "Nobody here but us chickens", but the phrase is older.[4] Its first known appearance was a joke published as a reader-submitted anecdote in Everybody's Magazine in 1908 regarding a chicken thief, formulated as, "'Deed, sah, dey ain't nobody hyah 'ceptin' us chickens."[5] From there, it was picked up by newspapers and reprinted far and wide.

References

  1. Dexter Jr., Dave (1975). The Best of Louis Jordan (Album notes). Louis Jordan. Universal City, California: MCA Records. p. 5. MCAD-4079 (CD reissue).
  2. "Grammy Hall of Fame". grammy.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. pp. 229–230. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
  4. Quinion, Michael (March 15, 2014). "Wordface". World Wide Words. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  5. "Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree". Everybody's Magazine. Vol. 19. July 1908. p. 717.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.