Editing Jimmy Rushing (section)

{{Short description|American blues and jazz singer (1901–1972)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = Jimmy Rushing
| image               = Jimmy Rushing 1946 (Gottlieb 07551).jpg
| image_size          =
| landscape           =
| caption               = Rushing in 1946
| background          = solo_singer
| birth_name          = James Andrew Rushing
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1901|08|26}}
| birth_place         = [[Oklahoma City]], Oklahoma, U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1972|06|08|1901|08|26}}
| death_place         = New York City, U.S.
| genre               = {{hlist|[[Jump blues]]|[[jazz]]}}
| occupation          = {{hlist|Singer|pianist|musician}}
| instrument          = {{hlist|Vocals|piano}}
| years_active        = 1924–1972<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kunc.org/music/2014-01-25/mr-five-by-five-was-a-five-star-artist|title=Mr. Five By Five Was A Five Star Artist|author=Applegate, Mark|date=January 25, 2014|publisher=KUNC|access-date=December 18, 2020}}</ref>
| label                   =
| associated_acts     = [[Count Basie]], [[Bennie Moten]], [[Walter Page]], [[Dave Brubeck]], [[Humphrey Lyttelton]], [[Buck Clayton]], [[Coleman Hawkins]], [[Jelly Roll Morton]], [[Billy King (vaudeville)|Billy King]]
}}

'''James Andrew Rushing''' (August 26, 1901<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Social Security Act: Application for Account Number|url=http://www.jimmyrushing.com/interviewimages/jrssn600x300.jpg|access-date=31 May 2017|date=4 June 1938|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100521003632/http://www.jimmyrushing.com/interviewimages/jrssn600x300.jpg|archive-date=May 21, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref> – June 8, 1972)<ref name="NYT"/> 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.<ref name="russell">{{cite book
|first= Tony
|last= Russell
|year= 1997
|title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
|publisher= Carlton Books
|location= Dubai
|page= 164
|isbn= 1-85868-255-X}}</ref>

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".<ref name="russell"/> He joined [[Walter Page]]'s [[Oklahoma City Blue Devils|Blue Devils]] in 1927 and then joined [[Bennie Moten]]'s band in 1929.<ref name="russell"/> He stayed with the successor Count Basie band when Moten died in 1935.<ref name="russell"/>

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.<ref name=livin>{{cite book |last=Rushing |first=Jimmy |title=Livin' the Blues |year=1968 |publisher=Bluesway |url=http://www.koolkatjazz.com/catalog/jimmy-rushing-livin-blues-p-2168.html |access-date=December 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231193204/http://www.koolkatjazz.com/catalog/jimmy-rushing-livin-blues-p-2168.html |archive-date=December 31, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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."<ref name= barlow>Barlow, William (1989). ''"Looking Up at Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture'', pp.&nbsp;245–246. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. {{ISBN|0-87722-583-4}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Basie |first=Count |title=Good Morning Blues |year=1985 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=0-394-54864-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/goodmorningblues00basi/page/182 182] |url=https://archive.org/details/goodmorningblues00basi/page/182 }}</ref> [[George Frazier (journalist)|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."<ref name=livin /> 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."<ref name=livin /> Among his best-known recordings are "Going to Chicago", with Basie, and "Harvard Blues", with a saxophone solo by [[Don Byas]].