“Come on-a My House” is a song performed by Rosemary Clooney on her album Come On-A My House, released on June 6, 1951. The song was written by Ross Bagdasarian and his cousin, the Armenian American Pulitzer Prize winning author William Saroyan, in the summer of 1939, while driving across New Mexico. The melody is based on an Armenian folk song. It was not performed until the 1950, off-Broadway production of The Son. The song did not become a hit until the release of Clooney’s recording. (More from Wikipedia)
Rosemary Clooney had a long singing career in the years leading up to the rock and roll revolution. Though she preferred performing big-band swing numbers, her breakthrough hit, “Come on-a My House” in 1951 was one of several dialect-flavored novelty songs that she recorded at the insistence of Mitch Miller (later famous for his television show in the early 1960’s, Sing Along with Mitch).
“Come on-a My House” was co-written by two Armenian American cousins, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan and Ross Bagdasarian. Bagdasarian, under his stage name David Seville went on to great fame by experimenting with recordings using speeded-up vocals. The first result was a #1 hit in the summer of 1958 called “Witch Doctor” – remember “Ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang, walla walla, bing bang, ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang, walla walla, bing bang”? He is best known of course for creating Alvin and the Chipmunks, whose popularity continues to the present day.
(June 2013/1)
