"Man Smart (Woman Smarter)" is a calypso song variously credited as being composed by
Norman Span
Norman Span, known as King Radio, was a top Trinidadian calypsonian active in the 1930s and 1940s.
He was a waterfront worker in Port of Spain
Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized ...
(
King Radio
Norman Span, known as King Radio, was a top Trinidadian calypsonian active in the 1930s and 1940s.
He was a waterfront worker in Port of Spain when he started performing in public in 1929. Six years later he started his short-lived recording car ...
), D. L. Miller, F. Kuhn, and Charles Harris. Span's authorship seems most likely since, as a popular calypso musician and songwriter, he first recorded the song in 1936, and none of the other ascribed composers are associated with calypso. Miller's music industry career began around 1950.
Artists from many genres, including
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
,
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...
,
the Carpenters
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,
Rosanne Cash
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,
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighte ...
,
Dr Victor
Victor Khojane, better known as Dr Victor or Dr Vic, is a reggae and R&B musician, who was born in Kimberley, South Africa.Robert Palmer, and
Ratdog
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, have recorded the song. It was a staple of the live repertoire of the
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
from 1981 to 1995. Belafonte's first of three recordings of the song was included on his best-selling album '' Calypso'', which reached number one on the
Billboard Top Pop Albums
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chart in 1956, and remained on the chart for 31 weeks. Span is credited as the song's composer on Belafonte's albums. It is sung by
Desi Arnaz
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,
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...
,
William Frawley
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and
Vivian Vance
Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress and singer best known for playing Ethel Mertz on the sitcom ''I Love Lucy'' (1951–1957), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outst ...
in the 1957 episode of ''
I Love Lucy
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'' entitled "Ragtime Band". A brief clip of a recording of
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
and
Marge Simpson
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singing it was also shown in
The Simpsons
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' 1991 episode
Treehouse of Horror II
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