James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 to June 8, 1972) from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was an American blues singer. In 1927, he joined Walter Page’s Blue Devils and then joined Bennie Motte’s band in 1929. When Moten died, he remained with the successor Count Basie group. After the Basie band split up in 1950, he retired briefly and then started his own group. His height earned him the nickname “Mr. Five-by-Five” (“he’s five foot tall and he is five feet wide”) and his signature song. His most well-known recordings include “Going to Chicago”, with Basie, and “Harvard Blues,” with Don Byas’ famous saxophone solo. George Frazier, the author of “Harvard Blues”, was called Rushing’s “a marvelous gargle” by Rushing. In 1972, he died from leukemia in New York City. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
