If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake

“If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake” is a popular song written by Al Hoffman, Bob Merrill, and Clem Watts and published in 1950. In the U.S, the best known version of the song was recorded by Eileen Barton in January 1950. Joe Lipman served as the musical director for the recording sessions for the two sides. The recording was released by National Records as catalog number 9103. When the song became too big a hit for National to handle, it arranged with Mercury Records to help with distribution. The record first reached the Billboard charts on March 3, 1950 and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1. The song was one of Tom Dowd’s first hits as a producer. In 1962, Barton’s recording of the song was included in a list of 101 Perennial Singles Hits compiled by Billboard – a group “For year-round programming by juke box operators and radio stations … a catalog of standards that can provide consistent earnings for operators and a wealth of material for discussion by broadcasters.”