Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: Merv Griffith

I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts

First recorded by Primo Scala & His Banjo and Accordian Band with The Keynotes (1949).
Also recorded by Billy Cotton & His Band (1949).
Hit versions by Freddy Martin & His Orchestra feat. Merv Griffith (US #8 1949), Danny Kaye (US #26 1950).

From the wiki: “‘I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts’ is a novelty song composed in 1944 (as “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts”) by English songwriter Fred Heatherton, and first recorded in 1949 by Harry Bidgood, aka ‘Primo Scala’, who recorded under a variety of different names (including ‘Rossini’ and ‘Don Porto’). Over the course of 20 years Bidgood would frequently broadcast on the BBC.

“‘I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts’ was a staple song of the Billy Cotton Band Show on British radio and television. The song is still played over the public address at Cambridge United football matches after home wins. In 1949, ‘Cocoanuts’ became a US Top 10 hit for Freddy Martin & His Orchestra, with vocalist Merv Griffin; the following year, it was a hit for Danny Kaye.”