“Salt Peanuts” is a bebop tune reportedly composed by Dizzy Gillespie in 1942, credited “with the collaboration of” bebop drummer Kenny Clarke. It is also cited as Charlie Parker’s.

In fact, while the verbal exhortation ”Salt Peanuts, Salt Peanuts!” is closely identified with Dizzy Gillespie, the musical motif upon which it is based actually predates Gillespie/Clarke by at least several months, as it appears as a repeated six-note instrumental phrase played on piano by Count Basie on his July 2, 1941 recording of “Basie Boogie” for the Columbia/OKeh label. Basie also played it in a recorded live performance at Cafe Society later that year. Both recordings are available on CD for verification as examples that predate Dizzy Gillespie’s first use of the phrase.

Salt Peanuts was most famously recorded by Dizzy Gillespie and His All-Stars on May 11, 1945 in New York City for Guild Records. The lineup was as follows: Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet)—Charlie Parker (alto sax)—Al Haig (piano)—Curley Russell (bass)— Sid Catlett (drums).