[3] It was the trio's most popular single, reaching number one on the Harlem Hit Parade for ten nonconsecutive weeks.
[4] "Straighten Up and Fly Right" also reached number one for six nonconsecutive weeks on the Most Played Jukebox Hillbilly Records.
[5] The song was based on a Black folk tale that Cole's father had used as a theme for one of his sermons.
In the tale, a buzzard takes different animals for a joy ride.
MacGregor Studios in Hollywood on November 30, 1943, with Johnny Mercer producing and John Palladino engineering the session.