Mr. Custer

1960 single by Larry Verne

"Mr. Custer"

Single by Larry Verne

from the album Mister Larry Verne

B-side

"Okeefenokee Two Step"

Released

1960

Genre

Novelty

Length

3:04

Label

Era

Songwriter(s)

Al De Lory
Fred Darian
Joseph Van Winkle

Larry Verne singles chronology

"Mr. Custer"
(1960)

"Mister Livingston"
(1960)

"Mr. Custer" is a march novelty song, sung by Larry Verne, and written by Al De Lory, Fred Darian, and Joseph Van Winkle.

Background

It is a comical song about a soldier's plea to General Custer before the climactic Battle of the Little Bighorn against the Sioux, to allow him to stay behind, because he had a bad dream about the battle.^[1]

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, also October 10, 1960.^[2]

Reception

In a retrospective review for his Number Ones column, Stereogum writer Tom Breihan panned the song, giving it one star out of ten while calling it "offensive", "morally wrongheaded", and "unlistenable musically".^[3]

Chart history

Weekly charts

Larry Verne

Chart (1960)	Peak position
Canada CHUM Chart^[4]	12
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[5]	1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Sides^[6]	9
U.S. Cash Box Top 100^[7]	3

Charlie Drake

Chart (1960-61)	Peak position
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)^[8]	7
UK Singles (OCC)^[9]	12

Ted Lune

Chart (1960)	Peak position
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)^[10]	4

Year-end charts

Chart (1960)	Rank
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[11]	42
U.S. Cash Box ^[12]	26

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.^[13]

Cover versions

"Mr. Custer" was also a No. 12 success in the UK Singles Chart for Charlie Drake in 1960, his third such chart hit.^[14]
Novelty/country singer-songwriter Ray Stevens covered this song for his 1969 album Gitarzan.

References

^ Bronson, Fred (1992). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits - revised & enlarged. New York: Billboard Books. pp. 76. ISBN 0-8230-8298-9.
^ "CHUM Hit Parade - October 10, 1960".
^ Breihan, Tom (March 7, 2018). "The Number Ones: Larry Verne's "Mr. Custer"". Stereogum. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
^ "CHUM Hit Parade - October 10, 1960".
^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 603.
^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 8, 1960
^ Flavour of New Zealand, 10 November 1960
^ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1960-11-02. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
^ Flavour of New Zealand, 24 November 1960
^ Musicoutfitters.com
^ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 24, 1960
^ Demented Music Database: Return Of Mr. Custer - Larry Verne
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 167. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.