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Jimmy Rushing | |
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.jpg) Rushing in 1946 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Andrew Rushing |
| Born | August 26, 1901 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | June 8, 1972 (aged 70) New York City, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1924–1972[1] |
James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901[2] – June 8, 1972)[3] 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.[4]
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".[4] He joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1927 and then joined Bennie Moten's band in 1929.[4] He stayed with the successor Count Basie band when Moten died in 1935.[4]
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.[5]
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."[6][7] 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."[5] 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."[5] Among his best-known recordings are "Going to Chicago", with Basie, and "Harvard Blues", with a saxophone solo by Don Byas.
- ^ Applegate, Mark (January 25, 2014). "Mr. Five By Five Was A Five Star Artist". KUNC. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- ^ "U.S. Social Security Act: Application for Account Number". June 4, 1938. Archived from the original on May 21, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
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NYTwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 164. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ a b c Rushing, Jimmy (1968). Livin' the Blues. Bluesway. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ Barlow, William (1989). "Looking Up at Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture, pp. 245–246. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 0-87722-583-4.
- ^ Basie, Count (1985). Good Morning Blues. New York: Random House. p. 182. ISBN 0-394-54864-7.