“Here Come De Honey Man”
Song by Ray Charles and Cleo Laine
“Here Come De Honey Man” is a weird song from Ray and Cleo Laine’s 1976 album Porgy And Bess. The song is a short duet (kinda) between Ray and Cleo with a sparse, clip-clop rhythm and an unusual bell noise ringing out regularly. One of the most attractive qualities about Porgy And Bess is that it called upon Ray to explore musical ideas far outside even his eclectic history. And so we get things like “Here Come De Honey Man”, which could almost pass for Krautrock if it weren’t a George Gershwin tune from the 1930s.
Vocalizing as the titular honey man, Ray Charles enjoys himself with some witty asides. “Yes ma’am!” he winks, as proud of himself as could be. Cleo (as Bess) giggles.
Despite Gershwin’s vernacular spelling in the title, Ray sings the main line of the song in regular English – “Here comes the honey man”. Another atypical aspect of the tune is its length: the piece is over and done with in less than 90 seconds.
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Songs on Porgy And Bess