"Mr. Five by Five" is a 1942
popular song by
Don Raye and
Gene DePaul, that describes a heavyset man who is "five feet tall and five feet wide". The person highlighted by the song was
Jimmy Rushing, the featured vocalist of
Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.
"Mr. Five by Five" has also been performed by others:
Later in 1942,
Harry James and His Orchestra (vocal by
Helen Forrest) with a best-selling platter on the Columbia label; it appeared on Variety's 10 Best Sellers on Coin Machines in December 1942.[2]
Harmony Sisters,
Thore Ehrling's Orchestra. Recorded in Stockholm on August 31, 1943. Released on the
78 rpmTelefunken A-5359 in Sweden and Telefunken T-8508 in Norway. The A side was "I'm Coming Home, Virginia".
Harry Parry on Crazy Rhythm, recorded by Harry Parry's Radio Rhythm Club Sextet.
It was also the origin of several small bits on radio comedy shows of the period, including on the
Jack Benny and
Fred Allen programs as well as one episode of The Great Gildersleeve.
The Morse and Slack version is featured in the soundtrack of the 2018 video game, Fallout 76.