JIMMY RUSHING with COUNT BASIE & HIS ORCHESTRA

"The Blues I Like to Hear" (one-sided shellac test). This song was recorded in New York City with Jimmy Rushing on vocals -- November 16, 1938 (released on Decca 2284, Matrix #64748. Composed by Jimmy Rushing and arranged by Buster Smith. Count Basie and his Orchestra : Ed Lewis, Harry Edison, Buck Clayton, tp; Dicky Wells, Dan Minor, BennyMorton, tb; Earl Warren, as; Lester Young,Herschel Evans, ts; Jack Washington, bs, as; Count Basie, p; Freddie Green, g; Walter Page, b; Jo Jones, drums.
   BACKGROUND: Born James Andrew Rushing on August 26, 1903, in Oklahoma City, OK; died June 8, 1972, in New York, NY. Jazz vocalist. Pianist. Played in Southern California with Jelly Roll Morton, Harvey Brooks, and Paul Howard, 1920s; member of Walter Page Blue Devils band, 1927-29; joined Bennie Moten's orchestra, 1929-35; member of Count Basie Orchestra, 1935-50; toured with his own septet, 1950-52; as a solo act, 1952-72; Europe with Humphrey Littleton, Buck Clayton, Benny Goodman, 1961; Japan and Australia with Eddie Condon, 1964; appeared in film The Learning Tree, 1969; appeared at the Half Note in New York City playing with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, early 1970s. Jimmy Rushing, also known as "Mr. Five by Five," (short height and wide girth) possessed ajoyous, booming voice that could be clearly heard over the swinging jazz orchestras of the big band era and beyond. He began his career as a piano player in the 1920s, but soon found his voice. He made his name with the Count Basie Orchestra in the 1940s, and enjoyed an active career singing solo and with jazz and big-band greats such as Humphrey Lyttleton, Buck Clayton, Benny Goodman, Eddie Condon, Al Cohn, and Zoot Sims, among others. He toured the United States and abroad, and his voice can be heard on countless recordings, including the most recent compilations The Essential Jimmy Rushing (1978), Mister Five by Five (1980), and The Classic Count (1982).