G.I. Jive

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

"G.I. Jive"
Single by Johnny Mercer
Released	1943 (1943)
Genre	R&B
Songwriter	Johnny Mercer

"G.I. Jive" is a 1943 comical song about the drudgery of military life written and originally performed by Johnny Mercer. ^[1] Mercer recorded the song with Paul Weston and his Orchestra on October 15, 1943 for his own Capitol Records label. ^[2] The song was released on Capitol 141 in December 1943 and reviewed by Billboard magazine in its December 11, 1943 issue. ^[3]

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. ^[4]

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. ^[5] 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". ^[6]

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. "78 Discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
3. "On the Records." Billboard, December 11, 1943, 67.
4. Jones, John Bush (2006). The Songs That Fought the War. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England. p. 114. ISBN   1584654430.
5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 395.
6. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 309.