Chocolate Cake (song)
1991 single by Crowded House
"Chocolate Cake" is a song by rock music group Crowded House from their third studio album, Woodface (1991). Released as a single in May 1991, the song reached number seven in New Zealand, number nine in Canada, and number two on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The John Hillcoat-directed music video won the ARIA Award for Best Video at the ARIA Music Awards of 1992.
History and description
The song was not originally intended as the lead single, as it was more intended for "It's Only Natural" to be the lead track. However, despite this, "Chocolate Cake" was released as the album's lead single. Despite performing marginally better than the singles from Temple of Low Men in the United States, the song was thought to offend due to its lyrics and the song gained only moderate performance in the US, as it referred to Americans having an "excess of fat on your American bones". The song reached number two on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart while also peaking at number 20 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and number 69 on the UK Singles Chart.
The B-sides featured are "As Sure as I Am", a song from Woodface, and "Anyone Can Tell", which was intended for release on the album however was not released due to the amalgamation of the Woodface project with the Finn Brothers project. The song later appeared on the rarities collection Afterglow and was released as its lead promotional single.
Personnel
Crowded House
Neil Finn – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards
Tim Finn – backing vocals
Nick Seymour – bass guitar, backing vocals
Paul Hester – drums, backing vocals
Additional musicians
Mitchell Froom – keyboards
Mark Hart – keyboards
Alex Acuña – percussion
Geoffrey Hales – percussion
Chris Wilson – harmonica
Jack Mack – brass
Tracks
"Chocolate Cake": written by Neil Finn and Tim Finn
"As Sure as I Am", "Anyone Can Tell": written by Neil Finn
Both "Chocolate Cake" and "As Sure as I Am" are from the album "Woodface".
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Chocolate Cake (song)” is 1991 single by Crowded House. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Chocolate, Cake and song, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1991 single by Crowded House” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5103600. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1991 and 1992.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Chocolate Cake (song)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Chocolate Cake (song) primary sources, Chocolate Cake (song) archive and Chocolate research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Chocolate Cake (song)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Chocolate Cake (song)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.