Ena Dayne The brief shining of a music hall star.

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The song had been performed in concert parties throughout the 1930s, principally by Charles Ray. "Cruising Down the River" was first recorded in 1946 by Lou Preager and his Orchestra, with the vocal by Paul Rich. The performance was tremendously popular on radio, with record and sheet music sales making it one of the biggest selling records of 1946 in the United Kingdom. It has been covered numerous times by various artists, including Connie Francis on her 1959 album My Thanks to You.

Description Date: 1920 Theatre: Comedy Theatre Performance: The Ruined Lady Main Actors: Antony Holles, John Williams, Rosa Lynd, Gwynne Whitby I really like the Nadia Cattouse version. She sings it with a little bit of an accent, which really enhances the song. Her pacing is slower and more deliberate than the Nancy Ames version, but excellent in its own way. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth I was singing this song in a restaurant in Melbourne in the 1970s. I had learned it from the hit parade during the decade before. A group of customers from Ghana told me it was one of their traditional songs. They said I was singing the English translation and the rhythms were a bit different. They sang it for me as they knew it. JoyAnd thanks to Mr Happy for requesting the words - since transcribing it, I've sung it out twice, with very favourable reception! Ena Dayne The brief shining of a music hall star.: The light cast on the Vink, Pridmore and Charman families [Soft Cover ]

In 1949 "Cruising Down the River" became the first British composition to top The Billboard charts.

Your post above mentioning the people from Ghana recognising it as one of their own trad songs with a different rhythm could mean that it originated in Ghana and was "calypsified" in the West Indies before being translated into English.