"Gimme a Pigfoot" is a 1933 song written by

Wesley Wilson Wesley Shellie Wilson (October 1, 1893 – October 10, 1958), often credited as Kid Wilson, was an American blues and jazz singer and songwriter. His stagecraft and performances with his wife and musical partner, Coot Grant, were popular w ...

, probably with

Coot Grant Coot Grant (June 11 or 17, 1893 – December 26, 1970) was an American classic female blues, country blues, and vaudeville singer and songwriter. On her own and with her husband and musical partner, Wesley "Kid" Wilson, she was popular with ...

, his wife, though she is not usually credited on record labels. It was first recorded by

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...

, and versions have been released by many other artists. It is sometimes listed as "Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer)". Bessie Smith recorded the song in New York on November 24, 1933, with a band led by pianist

Buck Washington Ford Lee "Buck" Washington (October 16, 1903 – January 31, 1955) was an American vaudeville performer, pianist, and singer. He was best known as half of the duo Buck and Bubbles, who were the first black artists to appear on television, with ...

. The musicians were Washington (piano),

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

(clarinet),

Frankie Newton Frankie Newton (William Frank Newton, January 4, 1906 – March 11, 1954) was an American jazz trumpeter from Emory, Virginia, United States. He played in several New York City bands in the 1920s and 1930s, including those led by Sam Wooding, Chic ...

(trumpet),

Jack Teagarden Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964) was an American jazz trombonist and singer. According to critic Scott Yannow of Allmusic, Teagarden was the preeminent American jazz trombone player before the bebop era of the 19 ...

(trombone),

Chu Berry Leon Brown "Chu" Berry (September 13, 1908 – October 30, 1941) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist during the 1930s. According to music critic Gary Giddins, musicians called him "Chu" either because he chewed on the mouthp ...

(tenor saxophone), Bobby Johnson (guitar), and

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...

(bass). The recording was organised and produced by John Hammond, and it proved to be Smith's final recording session before her death in 1937. The recording was released by

OKeh Records Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

in early 1934. The song's lyrics contrast the aspirations of those partying "up in Harlem every Saturday night, when the highbrows get together", with simpler pleasures: "At the break of day/ You can hear ol' Hannah say/ 'Gimme a pigfoot and a bottle of beer/ Send me again, I don't care/ I feel just like I wanna clown." A "pigfoot", or

pig's trotter A pig's trotter, also known as a pettitoe, or sometimes known as a pig's foot, is the culinary term for the foot of a pig. The cuts are used in various dishes around the world, and experienced a resurgence in the late 2000s. Description Pigs' t ...

, is a foodstuff often associated stereotypically with black Americans frequenting

juke joint Juke joint (also jukejoint, jook house, jook, or juke) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United States. A juke joint ...

s.Jennifer Russell, "'Gimme a Pig Foot and a Bottle of Beer': Food and music on the chitlin' circuit", ''The Splendid Table'', April 25, 2014
Retrieved 9 November 2022 Later recordings of the song include those by

Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon, born Frank Devera Jackson (March 3, 1896 or 1897 – May 15, 1953),Legal name and birth/death dates from headstone application as a military veteran, reproduced in Brian BergerFrankie Jaxon Hilobrow, 2013-02-03. Access ...

(1940),

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

(1950),

LaVern Baker Delores LaVern Baker (November 11, 1929 – March 10, 1997) was an American R&B singer who had several hit records on the pop chart in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her most successful records were "Tweedle Dee" (1955), " Jim Dandy" (1956), and "I ...

(1958), and

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

(1966).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gimme a Pigfoot 1933 songs Blues songs Bessie Smith songs Billie Holiday songs Nina Simone songs