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 Oklahoma City (city and state capital of Oklahoma, United States), Died June 8, 1972 (New York City (most populous city in the United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1960
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, lyricist, songwriter, piano
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 26-50 of 111 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | 29009 | 10-in. | 11/30/1940 | Draftin' blues | Count Basie Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO35730 | 10-in. | 2/4/1946 | Lazy lady blues | Count Basie ; Count Basie Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56714 | 10-in. | 11/6/1956 | Careless love | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56715 | 10-in. | 11/6/1956 | Doctor Jazz blues | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56716 | 10-in. | 11/6/1956 | Rosetta | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56717 | 10-in. | 11/6/1956 | New Orleans | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56718 | 10-in. | 11/6/1956 | Baby, won't you please come home | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56719 | 10-in. | 11/7/1956 | Piney Brown blues | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56720 | 10-in. | 11/7/1956 | Ain't nobody's business | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56721 | 10-in. | 11/7/1956 | Outskirts of town | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56722 | 10-in. | 11/7/1956 | Trick's ain't walkin' no more | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, instrumentalist, piano | |
| Columbia | CO56723 | 10-in. | 11/8/1956 | Old fashioned love | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56724 | 10-in. | 11/8/1956 | Lullaby of Broadway | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO56725 | 10-in. | 11/8/1956 | Some of these days | Buck Clayton's Orchestra ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO57688 | 10-in. | 4/9/1957 | Baby, don't tell on me | Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO57689 | 10-in. | 4/9/1957 | [No information] | Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO57690 | 10-in. | 4/9/1957 | My last affair | Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO57691 | 10-in. | 4/9/1957 | Don't tell me | Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO59927 | 10-in. | 12/8/1957 | I left my baby | All Stars (Count Basie) ; Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO60472 | 10-in. | 2/20/1958 | I'm coming Virginia | Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO60473 | 10-in. | 2/20/1958 | Mister Five by Five | Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO60474 | 10-in. | 2/20/1958 | June night | Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO60475 | 10-in. | 2/20/1958 | Rosalie | Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO60476 | 10-in. | 2/26/1958 | Knock me a kiss | Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CO60477 | 10-in. | 2/26/1958 | Jimmy's blues | Jimmy Rushing | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Rushing, Jimmy," accessed January 6, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103465.
Rushing, Jimmy. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103465.
"Rushing, Jimmy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 6 January 2026.
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 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82020011
Wikidata: Jimmy Rushing - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1689431
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/84969579
MusicBrainz: Jimmy Rushing - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/88c5de60-fa1a-4179-8100-ecd74c4edb73
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/87119 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/87119
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