SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE UPDATES ON NEW INDUCTEES AND CEREMONIES
All inducted songs
You can hear this classic in the British independent film "Swing" from 1999.
Ain’t Nobody Here But us Chickens
  • Year Inducted: 2008
  • Written In: 1946
Songwriters
Joan Whitney Songwriter
Artists
Asleep at the Wheel
BB King
Pat Boone
Clarence Brown
Patti LuPone
Lisa Stansfield
James Brown
Phil Harris
Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens is a delightful tune about a farmer who is chided by his chickens after disrupting their much-needed sleep. It has managed to impress fans of different musical genres for years.

The song achieved its initial and most outstanding success in 1946 with Louis Jordan’s recording, which reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and remained there for 17 weeks. His recording also reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, which was considered a great feat for an African American artist to crossover into the predominately Anglo-Saxon chart. Ray Benson’s award-winning band, Asleep at the Wheel, also covered the song, reintroducing it to a new audience as a western swing hit in 1978.

The Jazzabillies, a western swing group, re-introduced the public to Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens, on their 2006 album, Show Me, proving that Kramer and Whitney’s toe-tappin’, comical tune will remain a timeless and favoured classic.

Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens has appeared in the 1999 independent British film Swing and the 2002 film Swept Away, starring Madonna.

Read full story
/
Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens - performed by Emilie-Claire Barlow
"Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens", written and composed by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer, was performed by National Jazz Award singer Emilie-Claire Barlow at the 2008 CSHF Induction Ceremony.
Related News
April 22, 2025

Beloved song Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s written by Newfoundland and Labrador’s Otto Kelland to be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at the 37th East Coast Music Awards Gala, presented by Rogers in St. John’s, May 8

Media Releases
April 16, 2025

Richard Séguin to be Inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at the SOCAN Gala on May 4 at La Tohu

Media Releases
Our Partners