Short Fat Fannie

"Short Fat Fannie"
Single by Larry Williams
B-side	"High School Dance"
Released	1957
Genre	Rock and Roll
Length	2:25
Label	Specialty 608 (U.S.) London HLN 8472 (UK)[1]
Songwriter(s)	Larry Williams
Larry Williams singles chronology
"High School Dance" (1957) "Short Fat Fannie" (1957) "Bony Moronie" (1958)

"Short Fat Fannie" (alternatively "Short Fat Fanny"^[2]) is Larry Williams' second single release after "High School Dance". Williams' original penned track peaked at number five on the U.S. pop chart, and at number one on the R&B chart. It sold over one million records, Williams' first million seller.^[2]

Recording

The track was recorded on April 26, 1957. The musicians included:

• Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, leader
• Jesse James Jones, tenor sax
• Leon M. Silby, piano
• René Hall, guitar
• Ted Brinson, bass
• Earl Palmer, drums

Cover versions

The song was rehearsed by The Beatles during the filming of the documentary, Let It Be in 1969. The song was recorded on the film soundtrack and is featured on many bootleg recordings.

"Short Fat Fannie" was an early example of a novelty genre including pop song titles. This formula was later used for Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash" and Bob Kayli's "Everyone Was There", as well as both of Billy and Lillie's hits, "La Dee Dah" and "Lucky Ladybug".

The song was also covered by Billy Preston, The Beatles, Little Richard, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, Curtis Johnson, Ronnie Self, The Dovells^[3] and Johnny Winter. Frankie Avalon also recorded the song.

The track was also a favorite of Levon Helm, drummer of The Band. He would sing the song often while touring as the Hawks, and even played a version of it on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 1993.

Charts

• Billboard R&B: No. 1
• Billboard Hot 100: No. 5
• Billboard Hot 100 - B-side: No. 45
• UK Singles Chart: No. 21^[1]

References

1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 604. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
2. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 97. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
3. "Track search: Short Fat Fannie". AllMusic. Retrieved October 29, 2019.