G.I. Jive

This article is about the song. For the Armed Forces Radio Service program, see GI Jive.

"G.I. Jive" is a 1944 song written and originally performed by Johnny Mercer.^[1]

"G.I. Jive"
Single by Johnny Mercer
Released	1944 (1944)
Genre	R&B
Songwriter(s)	Johnny Mercer

Background

Mercer intended to write a song that the soldiers would like,^[1] and the song was the biggest hit of all the songs dealing with soldier life during World War II.^[2]

Chart performance

The single was a hit twice in 1944 by two different performers: Johnny Mercer hit number one on the Harlem Hit Parade for one week and peaked at number thirteen on the pop charts.^[3] Three months later, Louis Jordan, also made it to number one on both the Harlem Hit Parade and the pop chart with "G.I. Jive".^[4]

References

1. Gilliland, John (1994). Pop Chronicles the 40s: The Lively Story of Pop Music in the 40s (audiobook). ISBN 978-1-55935-147-8. OCLC 31611854. Tape 1, side A.
2. Jones, John Bush (2006). The Songs That Fought the War. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England. p. 114. ISBN 1584654430.
3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 395.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 309.