"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, "Mr. Five by Five", who was the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.
The song was introduced in the motion pictures Behind the Eight Ball and Who Done It?, both of which were 1942 Universal Pictures releases.
Ella Mae Morse with Freddie Slack and His Orchestra [1] had a hit recording with the song in 1942, which went to number one on the Harlem Hit Parade chart (Capitol 115), for two non consecutive weeks, as did Harry James and His Orchestra also issued a best-selling platter on the Columbia label that year. The song appeared on Variety's 10 Best Sellers on Coin Machines list in December 1942.
Also performed by:
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.