Mr. Five by Five

"Mr. Five by Five" is a 1942 popular song by Don Raye and Gene DePaul that describes a heavyset man who is "five feet tall and five feet wide". The person highlighted by the song was Jimmy Rushing, "Mr. Five by Five", who was the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.

The song was introduced in the motion pictures Behind the Eight Ball and Who Done It?, both of which were 1942 Universal Pictures releases.

Ella Mae Morse with Freddie Slack and His Orchestra had a hit recording with the song in 1942, which went to number one on the Harlem Hit Parade chart (Capitol 115), for two non consecutive weeks,[1] as did Harry James and His Orchestra also issued a best-selling platter on the Columbia label that year. The song appeared on Variety's 10 Best Sellers on Coin Machines list in December 1942.[2]

Also performed by:

It was also the origin of several small bits on radio comedy shows of the period, including on the Jack Benny and Fred Allen programs.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 532.
  2. ↑ Smith, Kathleen E.R. God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 110. ISBN 0-8131-2256-2.
Preceded by
"Take It and Git" by Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy		 The Billboard Harlem Hit Parade number-one single
(Freddie Slack and His Orchestra version)
October 31, 1942 (one week)
December 12, 1942 (one week) 		Succeeded by
"Trav'lin' Light"
by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra with vocal by Lady Day and trombone by Skip Layton
Preceded by
"Trav'lin' Light"
by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra with vocal by Lady Day and trombone by Skip Layton		 Succeeded by
"White Christmas"
by Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers and John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra
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