Mick Hartley

Jimmy Rushing with Billy Taylor's Band, New York, 1958:

Personnel: Buck Clayton (tp) Vic Dickenson (tb) Paul Quinichette (ts) Billy Taylor (p) Mundell Lowe (el-g) Eddie Safranski (b) Ed Thigpen (d).

No microphone needed:

Rushing was a powerful singer who had a range from baritone to tenor. He could project his voice so that it soared over the horn and reed sections in a big-band setting. Basie claimed that Rushing "never had an equal" as a blues vocalist, though Rushing "really thought of himself as a ballad singer." George Frazier, the author of Harvard Blues, called Rushing's distinctive voice "a magnificent gargle". Dave Brubeck defined Rushing's status among blues singers as "the daddy of them all." Late in his life Rushing said of his singing style, "I don't know what kind of blues singer you'd call me. I just sing 'em."