“Hang On Little Tomato” by Pink Martini

"Hang On Little Tomato" is the title song of Pink Martini's second album, which the band put out on its own Heinz Records label in October 2004, and its name comes straight from a Hunt's Ketchup ad in a 1964 Life magazine. That tells you plenty about the outfit's taste for vintage kitsch, played with a straight face. China Forbes sings it, and she wrote it with pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale and Patrick Abbey.

The setting is an elegant chamber band: Lauderdale's piano, Dan Faehnle's guitar, Paloma Griffin's violin, Pansy Chang's cello, Phil Baker on double bass, Doug Smith on drums and Norman Leyden on clarinet. Lauderdale produced with Adam Levey and Robert Taylor, Joe Chiccarelli added production, and Dave Friedlander recorded and mixed. It suits an album that, unlike the debut, leaned mostly on songs the members wrote themselves, sung in six languages.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.