I had heard this many times before but didn't know what it was - live and learn! It's catchy but I didn't bother listening to the whole thing.
Bent Fabric was the stage name of Bent Fabricius-Bierre (1924-2020), a Danish pianist and composer. He started his recording career in 1950 but concentrated mostly on film scores.
"Alley Cat" was originally released in Denmark in 1961 with the title "Omkring et flygel" ("Around a Grand Piano"). In 1962, it reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, which is exactly where it wound up in Toronto. It has been covered by Ray Conniff, Chet Atkins, Peggy Lee, and Bobby Rydell, among others, and has been frequently used by ice cream trucks to announce their existence.
After this, Fabric went back to doing film scores. In 2018, he was honoured for his long career by having a species of beetle named after him, Cacomorphocerus bentifabrici. (In case you're wondering: there is a species of beetle named after The Beatles. It was found in Amsterdam and is named Ptomaphagus thebeatles.)
Created January 22, 2026.