"Jack, You're Dead" is a song written by Dick Miles and Walter Bishop. It was performed by
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...
and his
Tympany Five
Tympany Five was a successful and influential American rhythm and blues and jazz dance band founded by Louis Jordan in 1938. The group was composed of a horn section of three to five different pieces and also drums, double bass, guitar and pian ...
, recorded in October 1946, and released on the
Decca
Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label
* Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...
label (catalog no. 23901-B). The song describes a man's physical state if he fails to respond to romance.
[
The song peaked at No. 1 on '']Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''s race record chart and remained on the chart for 20 weeks. It also reached No. 21 on the pop chart. It was ranked No. 4 on the magazine's list of the most played race records of 1947.
Jordan plays alto saxophone and sings on the record. The "A" side of the record was "I Know What You're Puttin' Down". On its release, ''Billboard'' described the song as "dandy", "jivey", and "solid".
Jordan and the Tympany Five also performed the song in the 1947 motion picture, "Look-Out Sister".
See also
* Billboard Most-Played Race Records of 1947
Billboard Most-Played Race Records of 1947 is a year-end chart compiled by ''Billboard'' magazine ranking the year's top race records based on the number of times the record was played on the nation's juke boxes.''Billboard'' assigned point totals ...
References
{{Louis Jordan
1947 songs
Louis Jordan songs
Blues songs