Little Known Fact | Who wrote the Banana Boat Song?

Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Me say day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home

We've heard it in commercials. It's on the radio station at the supermarket. They play it at football games to get the crowd to cheer "Day-o" back at the loudspeaker during a timeout. If you are like me, you've always thought the Banana Boat Song was the creation of this guy:


And to remind you why this song has so much stay power, and how much fun it can be, here's the first television broadcast of the Banana Boat Song:

According to wikipedia, the song was first recorded by Edric Conner and his band "The Carribeans" in 1952, on the album Songs From Jamaica. But another source I found claims the song was actually written by Alan Arkin when he was a member of The Tarriers, a folk group that included Arkin, Erik Darling, and Bob Carey. Alan Arkin? This Guy?

And to remind you why Alan Arkin has so much stay power, and how much fun he can be, here's a scene from Little Miss Sunshine: