June 11, 2021 - Cab Calloway’s “Everybody eats when they come to my house.”

Omg! I’ve just heard the most amusing and timely song: Cab Calloway’s "Everybody eats when they come to my House,” which was recorded sometime between 1939 and 1947 and released as part of a compilation of Calloway’s work: Are You Hep to the Jive? (1947). Amusing because the list of foods that he pairs with names oh so steadily and sweetly grows from the predictable and mundane, “Have a banana, Hannah / Try the salami, Tommy,” to pairings so surprising and bizarre that it’s difficult not to smile and feel welcomed, as though he were singing directly to you: “Pasta fazoula, Tallulah / oh, do have a bagel, Fagel.” Timely because the joys of getting together in person with family and friends is making a comeback, and in a major way.

I don’t know of any other jazz song ––– nor song of any other genre –––– that so unabashedly and enthusiastically engages in word play in a way that’s this reminiscent of a children’s book. The only song that comes to mind that’s in the same realm would be Blackalicious’ “A to G” from 1999, wherein, following a sample from what sounds like a 1950’s instructional video, in which a female voice speaks, “We’re going to learn to hear words with vowel ‘A’ sounds, listen with care.” Blackalicious lists word after word that does in fact begin with the letter A –––– “I be the analog arsonist, aimin at your arteries / All-seeing abstract, analyze everything / Adding on, absolutely abolishing / Average amateur’s arsenal just astonishing” –––– and then does the same for B, C, D, E, F, and of course, G.

But what separates “A to G” from the appeal and enjoyment of “Everybody eats when they come to my House” is this: “A to G” is an exercise in verbal dexterity; whereas“Everybody Eats” is a celebration! Calloway, who was a regular performer at Harlem’s historic Cotton Club through much of the 1920s and ‘30s, and was the first African-American to have a nationally syndicated TV show, sings with a warmth and charisma that would make it nearly impossible to decline his invitation. Plus, he makes it clear that even if you’re only a little hungry, he’s got all sorts of options and tidbits to choose from:“Well, you get the cherry, Jerry.” So why not stay, at least for a little while.