DJ Chrisbe's Song of the Week #212: Knock Me A Kiss

DJ Chrisbe's Song of the Week: Knock Me A Kiss by Louis Jordan — Louis Jordan, ca. July 1946. Photo by William P. Gottlieb

In the late 1930s/early 1940s, a new music style called Rhythm ‘n' Blues became popular: Jazz/Blues combined with accentuated rhythms.

Louis Jordan was one of the first stars of this new sound.

Knock Me A Kiss

About the song

By the time the group returned to New York in late 1941, the lineup had changed to Jordan, Bartley, Martin, trumpeter Eddie Roane and pianist Arnold Thomas. Recording dates in November 1941 produced another early Jordan classic, “Knock Me A Kiss”, which became a significant jukebox seller, although it did not make the charts.
However Roy Eldridge subsequently recorded a version, backed by the Gene Krupa band, which became a hit in June 1942, almost a year after the Jordan recording came out; it was also covered by Jimmie Lunceford.

Source: Louis Jordan biography on Wikipedia

Afterwards, the song was recorded many times by other artists and also by Louis Jordan himself.

Lyrics

I like cake,
And no mistake.
But, baby, if you insist,
I'll cut out cake
Just for your sake.
Baby, come on,
Knock me a kiss.
I like pie.
I hope to die.
Just get a load of this,
When you get high,
Doggone the pie.
Baby, come on,
Knock me a kiss.
When you press your lips to mine,
‘Twas then I understood.
They taste like candy, brandy and wine,
Peaches, bananas, and everything good.
I love jam,
And no flim-flam,
Scratch that off my list.
This ain't no jam,
The jam can scram.
Baby, come on,
Knock me a kiss.
When you press your sweet little lips to mine,
Then I understood, oh babe.
They taste like candy, brandy and wine,
Peaches, bananas, and everything good.