ELLA MAE MORSE MISTER FIVE BY FIVE 1942

[BigSleepyOx]

My favorite Elle Mae Morse song! :)

Was a big hit, and actually got to #1 on the R&B chart (called the "Harlem Hit Parade" chart back then) in 1942, which was very rare for white singers.

She again topped the R&B chart in 1943 with "Shoo Shoo Baby".

I think Bing Crosby ("White Christmas") and Dick Haymes ("You'll Never Know") were the only other white artists to have #1 songs on the R&B chart in all of the 1940's.

Maybe that's pertinent info wrt the "race" discussion in previous comments. ;)

[59Napoli]

What a babe! they dont make em like that nowadays

[d820m]

The great shouter Jimmy Rushing was known as Mr. Five by Five.....

[hep2jive]

to all those people like MrRJDB1969 and budgienation, just shut the hell up and listen to the damn song.

[theoriginalbadbob]

I WAS BORN IN 1942!

[MrRJDB1969]

Not sure that Doll Face sounded "black" or not . I never thought she was black actually, because nobody sang anything like her, white or black. She sang like Ella Mae Morse and that's it. Her talent should remain with her and not handed away or credit given to somebody else for what she was all on her own.

[budgienation]

@MrRJDB1969 Well observed. I just found out about Ella Mae Morse. She's phenomenal. Better than Patty, LaVerne or Maxine, Betty Hutton, Vera Lynn, The Modernaires, The Pied Pipers, aw hell, the list goes on but she's tops. That voice could raise the dead and turn goats milk into gasoline (110 octane, aviation fuel, natch) The only one who comes close is Billie Holiday....

[marselus88]

FANTASTIC! 5!

[8House]

Racist is one of the most overused words today, almost to the point of making it meaningless. Which of course it shouldn't be. Sammy Davis Jr. did not make a racist comment, he was complimenting a great singer. Now as far as this particular reindition, it is fantastic. Ella Mae Morse at her very best. I listen to it often.

[MrRJDB1969]

@8House : Things are just what they are. If Sammy Davis Jr. said what he said , as far as Ella , " sounding like one of us " or whatever, who really cares anymore. When I hear someone complaining about "racism" , hell , I just what to go puke somewhere, really. With that said though, racism has always existed, exists today, & will continue to exist tomorrow and it comes in EVERY single nationality or race and that's just how it is . I think music brings us all together though, which is good.

[JubalCalif]

MANY thanks for posting this toe tapper! What a gifted performer the late great Ella Mae Morse was! One of my favorite female singers. She & Freddy Slack were a match made in boogie woogie heaven! He could certainly "tickle the ivories" (strictly from coolsville, daddy-o) & Ella Mae knew how to swing it when she sang! If she & Freddy had been any more cool, they'd have been frozen!!! :)

[jonwiley]

I sang the first verse of this to a man I'm dating and -- of course -- he thought I was talking about him!!!!

[PetrusRuppert]

That's swell. You can sing it to me! I won't take it the wrong way! Haha, what a lucky guy!

[ZigJuanZag]

do u know where i can find more versions of this song? I used to listen to one singed by a guy, relally old as well but now i cant find it :(

[jonwiley]

There's also a version by Harry James and Helen Forrest. It's available on Youtube. Not as lively as the Ella Mae Morris Version.

[Theclassyginger]

This is a great song, love it!!!

[pancho45]

I was a little husky as a kid and my grandma used to sing this to me :)

[Turkeydoodlers]

Geesh you have good taste Joan

[Turkeydoodlers]

i have thos song for my player piano, good roll.

i will have to disk this out in the morning.

Cant get any better that Ella, or Anita o Day for that matter. thanks for these great videos

[OTRNut]

the other day i was playing this song and my 5 y/o niece started singing it word for word lol...thanks for the uploads

[tug0jackson]

Jimmy Rushing, a vocalist for Count Basie and His Orchestra, was known as Mr. Five by Five. Great videos!

[hookalakah]

Sammy Davis Jr. wasn't a racist. He was quite comfortable with white people, because they often recognized his extraordinary gifts, and they extended to him.  For a time, Sammy lived with the family of artist Wallace Berman in L.A's Fairfax district.

As for Ella Mae Morse, I'm sure Sammy's ears told him one thing, long before his eyes told him something else.

[CharlestonDog6]

Wow! What a great tune and a great voice of Ella Mae Morse! She had a lot of class and style! I don't know why we can't have great songs and artists today like they had back then! Maybe, because today they don't have any Juice! Hutzpa!

[d820m]

you can barely hear him, but T-Bone Walker is playing guitar on this number

[Gorsegrower]

Talk about nostalgia! These sides were on the juke box in college.

[Jim275]

To think she was only 14 when Jimmy Dorsey heard her and hired her. He had to let her go when he found out her age. She recorded Cow Cow boogie when she was just 17. It was Capitals first gold record. Amazing singer.

[hookalakah]

Elvis Presley to Ella Mae Morse: "Lady, you taught me how to sing."

Sammy Davis, Jr. to Ella Mae Morse: "I thought you were one of us."

[Joans20thCentury]

Hi, great comment .

[MorganHawke]

Sounds to me like Sammy was a little bit racist.

[aboundingboy]

@hookalakah

Please could you tell me where you got the quotes of Elvis and Sammy Davis from?

I'm doing an essay on Ella Mae Morse and it would really help me if you could point me in the right direction?!

Many thanks!

Elan

[d820m]

@hookalakah Ella Mae to Sammy Davis Jr. : But I AM one of you!!!!!!

[ilistenalot]

I believe the male voice at the end of this recording is Johnny Mercer.

Great tribute to Ella Mae.

[shrinkprof]

Yes, it is indeed Johnny Mercer, one of the founders of Capitol Records.

[davesharon5747]

This is the first I have ever heard of Ella Mae Morse. Sounds like she was a forerunner of the upcoming rock and roll music!!!

[williemitch]

every bit as good as her reputation over the years..williet

[joomuck]

Great voice. Reminds me of Helen Forest and Helen Ward.

[Cameragirl803]

Oh Yea! Love Ella Mae:) Great post!*****

[7beers]

What an awesome voice! Just perfect! She should have reached the top of the world -- she was robbed!

[leroyosmon]

This is just wonderful... now I have to google to see if I can find a bio of this wonderful singer! I really love the Cow Cow Boggie... and most everything else I have heard from her.

[balboabill]

Fantastic! Thanks for posting this wonderful clip.

[Joans20thCentury]

Hi, many thanks for your comment

[PhillySouth]

I think this is really one of the very best songs of the whole Swing Era. Thanks for posting it. For the uninitiated, this is a tribute, although slightly back-handed, but still with affection, for Jimmy Rushing, a long-time contemporary (at that time) vocalist who sang with the Count Basie band when they were cutting some bluesly records back in the day. For instance, check either "Exactly Like You" by Rushing with Basie, or "He Ain't Got Rhythm" which I think recorded with Benny Goodman.