"Mr. Custer" is a

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

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 Har ...

, 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 the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

before the climactic

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Si ...

against the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

, 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 reached No. 12 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, also October 10, 1960.

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 awar ...

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, which used the same melody and music arrangement, but it failed to chart.Demented Music Database: Return Of Mr. Custer - Larry Verne
/ref>

Cover versions

*"Mr. Custer" was also a success in the UK Singles Chart 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 ( tall), curly red hair and liking for slapstick, he was a popular ...

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 music, country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "M ...

covered the song for his

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

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