"Mr. Custer" is a

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

, sung by

Larry Verne Larry Vern Erickson (February 8, 1936 – October 8, 2013) was an American novelty song vocalist. Biography Verne recorded two U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart hit singles in 1960, "Mister Livingston" (No. 75) and "Mr. Custer" (No. 1, and No. ...

, and written by

Al De Lory Alfred V. De Lory (January 31, 1930 – February 5, 2012) was an American record producer, arranger, conductor and session musician. He was the producer and arranger of a series of worldwide hits by Glen Campbell in the 1960s, including John H ...

, Fred Darian, and Joseph Van Winkle.

Background

It is a comical song about a soldier's plea to General

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

before the climactic

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

against the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

, to allow him to stay behind, because he had a bad dream about the battle.

Chart performance

It was a No. 1 song in the United States in 1960, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart for the issue dated October 10, 1960, and remained there for one week. On the US Hot R&B Sides chart, it went to No. 9. It also reached No. 1 in Canada, September 12, 1960. In 1964, Verne recorded and released a sequel novelty song titled "Return of Mr. Custer," which used the same melody and music arrangement, but it failed to chart.

Reception

In a retrospective review for his ''Number Ones'' column,

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

writer Tom Breihan panned the song, giving it one star out of ten while calling it "offensive", "morally wrongheaded", and "unlistenable musically".

Chart history

Weekly charts

;Larry Verne ;Charlie Drake ;Ted Lune

Year-end charts

Sequel

A follow-up record, "Return of Mr. Custer (Please Mr. Sittin' Bull)" was released in 1964.Demented Music Database: Return Of Mr. Custer - Larry Verne
/ref>

Cover versions

*"Mr. Custer" was also a success in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for

Charlie Drake Charles Edward Springall (19 June 1925 – 23 December 2006), known professionally as Charlie Drake, was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer. With his small stature (5' 1"/155 cm tall), curly red hair and liking for slapstick, h ...

in 1960, his third such chart hit. *Novelty/country singer-songwriter

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...

covered this song for his 1969 album ''

Gitarzan "Gitarzan" is a novelty song released by Ray Stevens in 1969 about a character who lives in a jungle and forms a musical band with his female partner, Jane, and their pet monkey. The song features Tarzan's jungle calls, scat singing, and a funky ...

''.

References

1960 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Novelty songs 1960 songs Songs about the military Songs about military officers Cultural depictions of George Armstrong Custer {{1960s-pop-song-stub