If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake
Encyclopedia
"If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" is a popular
song
written by Al Hoffman
, Bob Merrill
, and Clem Watts and published in 1950
.
The big hit version in 1950 was recorded by Eileen Barton in January 1950. The recording was released by National Records
as catalog number
9103. When the song became too big a hit for National to handle, it arranged with Mercury Records
to help with distribution. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on March 3, 1950 and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1.
. The recording was made on February 16, 1950 and released by Coral Records
as catalogue number 60169. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on March 17, 1950 and lasted six weeks on the chart, peaking at #21.
A British version was recorded by Dame Gracie Fields
in 1950, and has since been used on a British television advertising campaign.
Another version was recorded by Betty Harris
and a choir, with Art Mooney
's Orchestra. The recording was made on February 15, 1950 and released by MGM Records
as catalogue number 10660.
Bing Crosby
and Bob Hope
recorded a version together that expanded on the standard lyrics to include verses about making a meal and preparing a goose.
In Australia
, a version was recorded by June Hamilton in May, 1950 and released by Pacific Records
as catalog number 10-0030.
This song was used on the first season (1969) of Sesame Street
in a skit involving Ernie
and Cookie Monster
. When Cookie Monster asks Ernie for a cookie, Ernie bakes him a birthday cake instead, while singing the song. When Ernie takes the finished cake — candles and all — out of the oven, he tells Cookie to make a wish, and the monster exclaims: "I wish it was a cookie!" But he snuffs out the candles and gobbles up the cake anyway as Ernie finishes the song.
A version was used as the opening theme to Exit 57
, a sketch comedy series that aired on Comedy Central
and starred Amy Sedaris
, Paul Dinello
, Stephen Colbert
, Mitch Rouse
, and Jodi Lennon.
Manhattan band The Maxes
recorded a version of the song in 2008 as part of a 12-song Al Hoffman collection titled "The Maxes Sing
Al Hoffman."
The song appeared in the M*A*S*H season one episode "Henry Please Come Home".
Certain versions of the song include the lyrics If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake "this morning" instead of "how'd you do".
Greggs the bakers, a retail bakery chain in the United Kingdom is using this song as part of a television advertising campaign. This can be viewed at Greggs.co.uk.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written by Al Hoffman
Al Hoffman
Al Hoffman , a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame since 1984, was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number one hits through each decade, many of which are still sung and recorded today...
, Bob Merrill
Bob Merrill
Bob Merrill was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter.Merrill was born Henry Merrill Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a...
, and Clem Watts and published in 1950
1950 in music
-Events:*January 3 – Sam Phillips launches Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee.*August – Herbert Howells' Hymnus Paradisi is premiered at the Three Choirs Festival.*Malcolm Sargent becomes chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra....
.
The big hit version in 1950 was recorded by Eileen Barton in January 1950. The recording was released by National Records
National Records
National Records was a record label that was started in New York by Albert Green in 1945 and lasted till early 1951.Big Joe Turner was signed at the outset and remained until 1947. Billy Eckstine was also a big seller for the label as were The Ravens...
as catalog number
Catalog numbering systems for single records
This article presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single records.- Capitol :...
9103. When the song became too big a hit for National to handle, it arranged with Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
to help with distribution. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on March 3, 1950 and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1.
Grammar
Strictly speaking, the song's grammar is erroneous. Correct usage to comply with the past tense of the latter part of the title would have demanded: "If I'd known you were coming..." or "Had I known you were coming...".Cover versions
Another version was recorded by Georgia GibbsGeorgia Gibbs
Georgia Gibbs was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of...
. The recording was made on February 16, 1950 and released by Coral Records
Coral Records
Coral Records was a Decca Records subsidiary formed in 1949. It recorded pop artists McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, as well as rock and roller Buddy Holly....
as catalogue number 60169. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on March 17, 1950 and lasted six weeks on the chart, peaking at #21.
A British version was recorded by Dame Gracie Fields
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
in 1950, and has since been used on a British television advertising campaign.
Another version was recorded by Betty Harris
Betty Harris
Betty Harridick is an American Soul Singer. Her recording career in the 1960s produced three hit records that made the Billboard R&B and pop charts: "Cry to Me" , "His Kiss" and "Nearer to You"...
and a choir, with Art Mooney
Art Mooney
Art Mooney was an American popular bandleader. His biggest hits were "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" and "Baby Face" in 1948 and "Nuttin' For Christmas," with Barry Gordon, in 1955...
's Orchestra. The recording was made on February 15, 1950 and released by MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
as catalogue number 10660.
Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
recorded a version together that expanded on the standard lyrics to include verses about making a meal and preparing a goose.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, a version was recorded by June Hamilton in May, 1950 and released by Pacific Records
Pacific Records
Pacific Records has been the name of at least two record labels:-Pacific Records :Pacific Records, was founded by Brian Witkin in 1999. Formerly known as "Real2Reel Records", in 2004 Pacific was introduced as a division of Wingnut Media Group, Inc, based in Del Mar, California. The company was...
as catalog number 10-0030.
This song was used on the first season (1969) of Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
in a skit involving Ernie
Ernie
Ernie is a fictional character, a Muppet on the Public Broadcasting Service's long-running children's television show, Sesame Street. He and his roommate Bert form a comic duo that is one of the program's centerpieces, with Ernie acting the role of the naïve troublemaker and Bert the world-weary foil...
and Cookie Monster
Cookie Monster
Cookie Monster is a Muppet on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating phrases: "Me want cookie!", "Me eat cookie!", and "Om nom nom nom" . He often eats anything and everything, including danishes, donuts, lettuce, apples,...
. When Cookie Monster asks Ernie for a cookie, Ernie bakes him a birthday cake instead, while singing the song. When Ernie takes the finished cake — candles and all — out of the oven, he tells Cookie to make a wish, and the monster exclaims: "I wish it was a cookie!" But he snuffs out the candles and gobbles up the cake anyway as Ernie finishes the song.
A version was used as the opening theme to Exit 57
Exit 57
Exit 57 was a 30-minute sketch comedy series that aired on the American television channel Comedy Central from 1995 to 1996; its cast was composed of comedians Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert, Jodi Lennon, and Mitch Rouse, all of whom had previously studied improv at The Second City in...
, a sketch comedy series that aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
and starred Amy Sedaris
Amy Sedaris
Amy Louise Sedaris is an American actress, author, and comedian. She is known for playing the character Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy. Sedaris regularly collaborates with her older brother, humorist and author David Sedaris...
, Paul Dinello
Paul Dinello
Paul Dinello is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and an alumnus of Chicago-based The Second City, Improv Institute, and Annoyance Theatre...
, Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
, Mitch Rouse
Mitch Rouse
Edward Mitchell "Mitch" Rouse is an American film and television actor, director and screenwriter.Rouse was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and raised in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he played football at Oak Ridge High School. He attended the University of Tennessee before developing an interest in...
, and Jodi Lennon.
Manhattan band The Maxes
The Maxes
The Maxes are a Manhattan-based musical duo headed by Josh Max and Julie James. Max is the guitarist, singer, songwriter and arranger of music for the group and James is vocalist. Live, the act usually has four pieces; standup bass, drums, guitar and vocals, but piano and brass are occasionally...
recorded a version of the song in 2008 as part of a 12-song Al Hoffman collection titled "The Maxes Sing
Al Hoffman."
The song appeared in the M*A*S*H season one episode "Henry Please Come Home".
Certain versions of the song include the lyrics If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake "this morning" instead of "how'd you do".
Greggs the bakers, a retail bakery chain in the United Kingdom is using this song as part of a television advertising campaign. This can be viewed at Greggs.co.uk.