"Yes! We Have No Bananas" is the title of a novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn from the 1922 Broadway revue "Make It Snappy." Sung by Eddie Cantor in the revue, the song became a major hit in 1923 (number 1 for five weeks) when it was recorded by Billy Jones, Arthur Hall, Irving Kaufman and others. It was covered later by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, Spike Jones & His City Slickers and many more. It is one of the top songs of the 20...
more
"Yes! We Have No Bananas" is the title of a novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn from the 1922 Broadway revue "Make It Snappy." Sung by Eddie Cantor in the revue, the song became a major hit in 1923 (number 1 for five weeks) when it was recorded by Billy Jones, Arthur Hall, Irving Kaufman and others. It was covered later by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, Spike Jones & His City Slickers and many more. It is one of the top songs of the 20th century. It also inspired a follow-up, "I've Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues," recorded by Billy Jones and others in 1923.
Some speculate that a banana shortage at the time inspired the song. The Long Island, New York, town of Lynbrook claims the songwriters wrote the tune there and that the catchphrase "Yes! We have no bananas" was coined by Jimmy Costas, a local Greek American greengrocer; however, a 1923 article in the Chicago Tribune said the phrase originated in the Windy City in 1920. Cartoonist Thomas A. Dorgan (1877–1929) is...
less
