That's Louis Prima singing the novelty song Yes, we have no bananas in 1949.

The song was actually written in 1923, a century ago, and was so popular a million copies

of its sheet music sold in a matter of months.

As Variety wrote, its success is unexplainable, although the title as a catch line may be a cause.

That title came from a phrase supposedly uttered by a Greek grocer at a Long Island fruit

stand.

Some believe the song was inspired by an actual banana shortage.

The song was such a craze that demand for the fruit skyrocketed, causing actual runs

on bananas.

And now it might surprise you that the banana that everyone was going ap for at the time

was not the banana you find at your local grocery store today.

This was an entirely different variety of banana, one that dominated the US market for decades

in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.

Its name, the Grommiechel French for Big Mike.

For many, this was the only banana they would ever know, and it was delicious.

The Grommiechel has a nicer taste and more banana-y taste.

It is better than the banana we eat now.

When the Grommiechel had to be replaced, banana companies weren't sure the new banana,

the one we eat today, which is known as the Cavendish, would even be accepted.

When the switch had to happen, they were like, no, how's wife is going to buy these,

because they just don't taste as good.

So what happened to this beloved banana?

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