"5-10-15 Hours" is a

rhythm-and-blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

song written by

Rudy Toombs Rudolph Toombs (1914 – November 28, 1962) was an American performer and songwriter. He wrote " Teardrops from My Eyes", Ruth Brown's first number one R&B song, and other hit songs for her, including "5-10-15 Hours". He also wrote " One Min ...

in 1952 for Ruth Brown and was one of several number-one R&B hits he wrote for her. When Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, her induction said that "her best work was to be found on such red-hot mid-Fifties R&B sides as '5-10-15 Hours'".

Song Background

Her recording is smooth, sophisticated blues shouting at its best, has a touch of suppliance more characteristic of the vocal qualities of popular singers than of the blues. The recording features a

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the Alto saxophone, alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key ...

solo by Willis Jackson.

Footnotes

1952 singles Ruth Brown songs Songs written by Rudy Toombs 1952 songs {{1950s-R&B-song-stub