Cocktails for Two
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"Cocktails for Two" is a song from the Big Band era, written by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow. According to the website noted in this article, the song originated with the movie Murder at the Vanities (1934).
As that writeup notes, it is best remembered today due to its parody by Spike Jones and His City Slickers. However, the writeup also implies that Jones first recorded it in 1956. In fact, according to the CD The Best of Spike Jones, the Slickers first recorded it as early as 1944.
Zarah Leander recorded the song in Swedish, for Odeon, in 1934.
[edit] Trivia
The song seems to refer to the ending of Prohibition in the United States. Mentioned discreetly in the song's introduction is that people could be "carefree and gay once again". The song was written in 1934, and the 21st Amendment, which ended Prohibition, was ratified a year earlier in 1933.
The song has recently featured in a UK advertising campaign for Schweppes.
According to recording industry insiders, one of the song's composers, Sam Coslow, hated Jones' irreverent treatment, but much to his ambivalence, the recording's success earned him very large royalties.
