Jimmy Rushing
James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as "Mr. Five by Five" and was the subject of an eponymous 1942 popular song that was a hit for Harry James and others; the lyrics describe Rushing's rotund build: "he's five feet tall and he's five feet wide". He joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1927 and then joined Bennie Moten's band in 1929. He stayed with the successor Count Basie band when Moten died in 1935. Rushing said that his first time singing in front of an audience was in 1924. He was playing piano at a club when the featured singer, Carlyn Williams, invited him to do a vocal. "I got out there and broke it up. I was a singer from then on," he said. Rushing was a powerful singer who had a range from baritone to tenor. He has sometimes been classified as a blues shouter. He could project his voice so that it soared over the horn and reed sections in a big-band setting. Basie claimed that Rushing "never had an equal" as a blues vocalist, though Rushing "really thought of himself as a ballad singer." George Frazier, the author of Harvard Blues, called Rushing's voice "a magnificent gargle". Dave Brubeck defined Rushing's status among blues singers as "the daddy of them all." Late in his life, Rushing said of his singing style, "I don't know what kind of blues singer you'd call me. I just sing 'em." Among his best-known recordings are "Going to Chicago", with Basie, and "Harvard Blues", with a saxophone solo by Don Byas. |
Birth and Death Data: Born August 26, 1901 (Oklahoma City), Died June 8, 1972 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1947
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, lyricist, songwriter
Notes: Listed on some disc labels as James Rushing.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-42 of 42 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 62080 | 10-in. | 3/26/1937 | The glory of love | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 62081 | 10-in. | 3/26/1937 | Boogie woogie (I may be wrong) | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 62333 | 10-in. | 7/7/1937 | Listen my children (and you shall hear) | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 62511 | 10-in. | 8/9/1937 | Good morning blues | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 62682 | 10-in. | 10/13/1937 | I keep remembering | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 62684 | 10-in. | 10/13/1937 | Don't you miss your baby? | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 63122 | 10-in. | 1/3/1938 | Georgianna | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 63123 | 10-in. | 1/3/1938 | Blues in the dark | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 63286 | 10-in. | 2/16/1938 | Sent for you yesterday (and here you come today) | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 63288 | 10-in. | 2/16/1938 | Now will you be good? | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 63918 | 10-in. | 6/6/1938 | Mama don't want no peas' n' rice' n' cocoanut oil | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 64471 | 10-in. | 8/22/1938 | Stop beatin' round the mulberry bush | Count Basie Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | vocalist | ||
Decca | 64472 | 10-in. | 8/22/1938 | London bridge is falling down | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 64748 | 10-in. | 11/16/1938 | The blues I like to hear | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 64749 | 10-in. | 11/16/1938 | Do you wanna jump, children? | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist | ||
Decca | 64978 | 10-in. | 2/2/1939 | You can depend on me | Count Basie Sextet | vocalist | ||
Decca | 64984 | 10-in. | 2/4/1939 | Evil blues-1 | Count Basie Orchestra | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Rushing, Jimmy," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103465.
Rushing, Jimmy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103465.
"Rushing, Jimmy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Jimmy Rushing
Discogs: Jimmy Rushing
Allmusic: Jimmy Rushing
Grove: Jimmy Rushing
IMDb: Jimmy Rushing
Britannica: Jimmy Rushing
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Rushing, Jimmy - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82020011
Wikidata: Jimmy Rushing - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1689431
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/84969579
MusicBrainz: Jimmy Rushing - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/88c5de60-fa1a-4179-8100-ecd74c4edb73
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