A goofy song written about: George Armstrong Custer, and the then Generals fateful decision to drag his7th Cavalry in to fight the savage Indians of the western frontier
Here l am, an 80yr old guy sitting at my table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper...For some unknown reason this song and the title popped up in my head...Haven't heard this record in at least 50 years...no idea who sang it but Google came to the rescue when l typed the title in.. Many tx for the bonus video..And to one poster who wondered if it might be offensive, all l can say is this song came out in the early or mid 50's and most people saw it as just humorous. For us old timers seeing those Indians reminded of many movies seen as a kid on Saturday afternoons..Red Ryder and others and let's not forget Robert Blake (Barretta) played a young Indian boy in movies starring Red Ryder......aah the memories!
Yes, what you say is true, but most of the attitude was anti-Indian, anti black and anti-hispanic in those days, and I do well remember those old days.
Hahahahaha, I'm the same 88 this song popped into my head looked it up and Dam there it was........guess when you hit 80s everything is recalled, now if I could only find my keys.
trey styles Read a book about the Comanche, the novel Ride the Wind. I was very impressed with this tribe. Their ability to survive, their love for freedom, their horsemanship. History is sad.
Man, life was so much fun people under 30 can't even imagine how entertaining the world once was. After WWII we had a very wild sense of humor. Real adversity tends to bring out great humor as a way of dealing with it. I LOVE the pictures and film footage.
I loved this song when I was little, it was funny then and even funnier now, but I can relate to it's message and content!! It's funny as hell!!!🤣😂😂😅😆😂
I REMEMBER THIS SONG ON THE RADIO WHEN I WAS LITTLE. I HAVE ANCESTORS THAT KNEW GEORGE CUSTER, THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY ABOUT HIM. LIKED THIS VIDEO, GREAT PICTURES OF INDIANS THAT SEEMED TO BE OVERLOOKED A BIT IN OUR HISTORY. THANKS!
I am a 77 year old Black woman. This song has been in my life since I was a child, I sing it often. It was never funny to me but told a story of defeat. Sitting Bull was the greatest General that ever lived and he along with Crazy Horse fought the greatest battle of all times to save their people. They planned their battle and pulled together Indian Nations to fight to the death for their lives and beliefs. They fought with their hearts not just their bodies. This song is not funny nor sad, it is REAl, and I feel it everything I sing it. All Indians should be proud to say, I am Indian because this is their land and we are just passing through it. 3:04
@@audreyricci6383I assume you know that speaking for or representing indigenous people without tribal enrollment is pretty much considered fraud. So you mind saying what tribe you are enrolled in? BTW enrolled indigenous people don't actually talk about what percentage they are, as blood is not culture.
We lived next door to a Navajo family, when I was a tyke. The missus was a real sweet lady, but you didn't want to use that expression around her, it really got her Irish up.
Jim68 the late Larry Verne did a follow up song called Mr. Sitting Bull which didn’t get very much air time on the radio as Mr. Custer did, the same with the late Jimmy Deans song The Cajun Queen which was a follow up song to Big Bad John in 1962.
I always picture Dustin Hoffman when I hear this song, Little Big Man is still pne of my favorite movies. If you've never watched it you're missing out.
This was a hit when I was a kid. I think it could have been my introduction to black humor. I loved (and still love) all the asides like "you're a little late on that one, Charlie ....ooo I bet that smarts," and "Hey out there, kemosabe - no that isn't it."
I was out hiking this morning, and suddenly this song started playing in my head! Haven't heard it since I was a kid, and I couldn't come up with two lines of lyrics! Thanks so much for posting this, it's a song from my youth!
Guys, calm down. It's a song that was produced a long time ago, and actually pretty well written. If there's anything to be offended over, it's the talentless modern music.
I agree, I am part Cherokee Indian. My grandfather was half Cherokee Indian. HIs mother was full blood Indian. Both her parents were Indian. but I am not offended in any way about this song. At least it gives the Indians some attention.
micheal wells To this day I STILL sing this song whenever I have to do something that I really, really DON’T want to do! Great song, always makes me smile.
When i was still in my single digits, my dear mother did something completely out of habit, and bought an album from a tv add called Goofy Gold. It had a lot of great, stupid songs on it, but this one was probably my favorite. I was always able to place myself in the narrators situation and empathize. :)
My papa would strum his guitar and sing this in the parlor laughing! Never knew it was a real song! Thought it was one of his creations but here I am listening to it next to his urn! Rip papa
@Henry Pitts...Glad to see there are still some around who remember this song...Hard to NOT like growing up hearing it. Some posters act like this song just came out, when it was really late 50's possibly in the 60's! That's 60 years ago!
I had not thought about this song since I was just a kid... hummed it today and tried to find it on YT, come up immediately. Thank you so much for bringing a piece of my childhood back.
Comments 99% people complaining about people complaining about the song being racist 0.1% actual people upset about the song Grew up on this song tho, classic
I’m native and I didn’t think this song was racist at all. I was just listening to Johnny Cash’s Custer. And “Custer died for your sins” by Floyd Red Crow Westerman (both great songs, check em out.). And this popped in my feed and I thought it was awesome. Indians joke about Custer all the time so I’m confused how this is racist. The guy singing is from the perspective of an obviously exaggerated character.... It’s a damn good song, some people are just looking for things to be angry at. And that’s not to say there aren’t valid concerns about racism towards natives, that definitely exists and is a problem, but this song is harmless.
I am 3/4's Cherokee, and yes this song is funny, but hey he didn't lie either... My grandfather used to play this song for me since before I could walk, so I actually love this song...🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Historically comedy has come from a place of pain, and I personally enjoy this particular brand of parody that teaches you something or makes you think
I member this Song as a Kid, I listened to EveryWord, lol. Custer Lost, As an Native I'll never forgot how My Ancestor Endured Pain, Never, America Was Born On Gods Native Land, And Here We Are Today, Thank An American Native, Brother and Sisters Let there be Peace Now
Back in the 60s, a Baltimore radio station, WITH, had a big promotion. They said they were going to change the station to something called "Pleasure Phonic Radio". Didn't really mean anything it was all hype. Anyway just before they were going to make this big change, they played this song nonstop for hours. No mater what song they said they were going to play, they played Please Mr. Custer. Finally when you couldn't stand it anymore, they made the big announcement and ushered in Pleasure Phonic Radio. It was a cleaver promotion, cause nothing really changed, but their audience was so relieved to hear something else they didn't notice that there was no real change. I loved WITH, and actually visited the station and played one record, Problems, problems, by the Everly brothers. My favorite D.J.s were Jack Gail and Maurice "Hot Rod" Hulbert.
I saw Larry Verne perform this song, summer 1960 at the old Pacific Ocean Park in Santa Monica, California. Been a long time since I've heard it. Thanks for the memory.
Alot of my relatives on my moms side are cherokee and i remember hearing stories about the trail of tears. My great-great grandpa was general crook who was half charokee and served in the northern army at the time and was under general custer 13 calvary. He wasnt with custer as he went to battle with the souix, but warned custer it was a bad idea to go in alone. My grandfather was in apache and navaho country trying to settle some land desputes between the two nations.
+Shawna Lowrie HAHA yeah and I'm 1/245564339837372 Martian and my grandpa served under Moa- Zedong and participated in the battle of New Orleans. Get over yourself.
Whats your problem? You hate everyone if thier not walking talking thinking like you. Ive traced my ancestry back. Have you or are yoy scared you might be mixed, people like you are always sceptical of everyone else cuz you have got something to hide.
+Shawna Lowrie I hate everyone and I'm afraid I might be mixed? Nah, not at all. It just that people make bullshit claims that they're related to generals or other famous people.
I mean I’m native and I like this song. There’s a ton of great songs making fun of Custer. Like Johnny Cash’s Custer. I celebrate this song, and indians (at least the ones I know) love to make fun of the “great” celebrity “general”.
My husband is now watching the tv series Deadwood. I don't watch TV so he insists on trying to tell me about it. Every time he says something about Custard this song comes to mind. 😂😂😂 So now every time he tells me something i play this and he huffs and puffs and goes back to watching his show. Now days Im sure if someone would release this some kid or tender heart would say it was offensive. 😂😂
Heard this song for the first time in a long time and I couldn’t get it out of my head for 3-4 days, I just keep singing Hey mr Custer over and over again.so I listen to it again to see if that would make it go away.nope,that didn’t do any good so I went around singing for 3-4 more days. For some odd reason I love this song. Hey Mr. Custer please don’t make me go.
I love the rhythm of this song, and it is quite humorous. I respect the hell out of Crazy Horse, Gall, and Rain in the Face, being of Native descent, myself. I'm not Sioux, but I can still appreciate the sacrifices people like them made for the survival of their people.
Had this song on one of my K-TEL various hits albums{ believe side 2 of Block Buster?) Worn the poor album out along with many other of the K-TEL albums listening to them over and over and yes kept the albums in our K-Tel Record Selector.
Look people who hate this song it shows people know Custer was the worst general we had and i dont understand why u complain im native American and i like this song
Actually, Custer was recognized as a talented and accomplished military leader. He also played a major role in bringing the corruption of the Grant presidency to the surface. Had that battle played out differently or never occurred, he likely would have been remembered as an American hero.
I love this song when I was like 4 yrs old. I had a 45 record and played it alot! Never really thought about it...but so sad when I found it was really true
+Michael Bushnell Yep, I recall when it came out, we all got a great laugh out of it, later it came on the album called Goofy Greats! Along with silly songs like Ahab the Arab, Gittarzan, and 21 MORE! I still have the album though I don't think my old Pioneer PL-50 will play it any more, perhaps I shall find it and give it a try.
I used to love hearing this on Dr. Dimento on Sunday nights in the early 70's. Thought it was funny. I loved the bad jokes...("Hey Charlie, duck your head... pfffft... oops, guess you were a little late on that one." "I don't wanna end up dead or bald"
💁🏻♀️My FAVORITE, FAVORITE, FAVORITE song from when I was just a little thing👧🏻....I knew all the words to Mr. Custer (this version) and King of the Road (Ray Stevens) before I was 5 -such memories🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
He was rapidly promoted to the rank of brevet General during the Civil War, but after the war was demoted to Lt. Colonel. All officers who continued to serve were reduced in rank (some dropped 2 or 3 ranks), as manpower in the reorganized federal military was greatly reduced. It was however the tradition that brevet generals continued to be addressed using the courtesy title "General", by the officers and men under their immediate command.
I remember buying a 45 of this song at the local record shop and listening to it in one of their booths before taking it home. That way you made sure you got a good pressing.
@Skyrilla, this is not an anti war song. It is a funny song about a cowardly soldier involved in the massacre of Custer and his cavalry by the native nations that had stopped killing each other long enough to form an alliance against the expansion West by pioneers. It's called conquering and it has been done a thousand times at least over the course of human history and by every race on the planet including natives in what is now the United States.
@uknow who, if you knew anything about the history of humans on this planet, you would know that conquering new territory and displacing the original inhabitants has been happening since the dawn of mankind and has been done by every race on the planet at some point starting with the exodus from Africa of Homo Sapiens into areas of Europe and Asia that were already inhabited by earlier species of humans. If we are being honest it isn't white people that set the precedent for this behavior. They just happened to develop the technology to do so on a massive scale while more primitive cultures never advanced beyond the stone age. I figure that if the shoe was on the other foot and someone other than , "white folks" had advanced while, "white folks" had not, they would think they were superior to those, "white folks" they encountered. It's not a pass given to white racism, it's an understanding of why they thought they were superior to other people they encountered that lived in more primitive conditions. In hindsight it's easy to demonize them but given the ignorance of the times they lived in I don't think it's fair. If you were educated and rational you might understand that but I doubt you are either.
But you don't have enough character to avoid calling people derogatory names so maybe I should ignore your comments. I believe race is a social construct not a biological one. Obviously there are some differences between those of African and Asian descent but there are hundreds of people groups just in the sub-continent of India. And some of them are as black as any African.
So then, how many races are there? Oh, I only went to university for one semester. I was pretty messed up as a young man and of course, you think I still am. Oh well.
That was the thought when I was a young man, but I think many Anthropologists dispute the 3 race theory. At least according to a World Book Encyclopedia I have from the mid-80's. Some now say 4 others 5.
The singer of this song is one-hit wonder Larry Verne. In fact, it was 52 years ago today (October 10, 1960) that his version of the song was sitting at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts.
Everyone needs to get over their PC, easily offended, "its all about me" attitudes and realize that this is a funny song about someone who saw what was going on and was honest enough to say he didn't want to fight in a losing battle.
first time i heard this i was in my car and almost fell over the seat laughing so hard. sadly , you are right we have all forgotten how to LAUGH at ourselves. won't tell you what I thought of Custer, but........
In the end Custer had become an arrogant insolent Indian butcher with numerous atrosities on his record--He graduated last in his class at West Pt and didnt take orders well--He got what he deserved-------
Song popped into my head when my son-in-law told me this morning his dad had requested me to bring his breakfast and make coffee. He says I'm the only one who knows how to make coffee!
The one thing that every grunt soldier ever said, " Please don't make me go, Please don't make me get on that chopper, and go into the jungle! Raul R. Gonzales
Most of the native people I know (Navaho, Cherokee) have a _very_ well-developed sense of humor. And, always enjoyed this. And of course, we all know the right perspective about George Armstrong... a real putz.....one of the best comments I've ever seen about the General, was Jim Thorpe's. Jim was confronted in a watering-hole by Errol Flynn, during the filming of that ridiculous version of the events. Flynn, fancying himself a boxer, took a swing at the best athlete of the 20th century. (It isn't reported if it landed...) Jim flattened Flynn with one punch...then said..."Custer's shit is still weak."
Coincidentally I first heard this Kooky Great Hit, back in the Mid Seventy's along with many Others. Funny it's just as Fantastic as Wayyyy back then. Thank You.
Thanks so much for putting this on RU-vid....all politics aside, this is a funny song, in the tradition of other comedy/novelty songs of that time. Who CAN'T identify with the nervous, wise-cracking, "whistling in the graveyard" private?!?
