I'd Rather Be Blue

{{Infobox song

| name = I'd Rather Be Blue

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Fanny Brice

| album =

| EP =

| A-side = "I'd Rather Be Blue"

| B-side = "If You Want the Rainbow (You Must Have the Rain)"

| written =

| published =

| released =

| recorded =

| studio =

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| genre =

| length =

| label = Victor Talking Machine Company

| writer =

| composer = Fred Fisher

| lyricist = Billy Rose

| producer =

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}}

"I'd Rather Be Blue" (or "I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)") is a song from the 1928 Warner Bros. musical film My Man, in which it was sung by Fanny Brice.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Fanny-Brice-Id-Rather-Be-Blue-If-You-Want-The-Rainbow-You-Must-Have-The-Rain/release/3600109|title=Fanny Brice - I'd Rather Be Blue / If You Want The Rainbow (You Must Have The Rain) (Shellac) at Discogs|date=February 1929 |publisher=Discogs|access-date=2018-03-22}}

Composition

The song was written by Fred Fisher and Billy Rose.{{cite book|author=Herbert G. Goldman|title=Fanny Brice: The Original Funny Girl|url=https://archive.org/details/fannybriceorigin00gold|url-access=registration|quote=I'd Rather Be Blue.|date=October 1993|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-508552-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fannybriceorigin00gold/page/289 289]–}}{{cite book|author=Colin Bratkovich|title=Just Remember This|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5WwBBQAAQBAJ&q=%22I%27d+Rather+Be+Blue%22&pg=PA2499|date=8 May 2014|isbn=978-1-4836-4519-3|pages=249–|publisher=Xlibris Corporation }}{{cite book|author=Edwin M. Bradley|title=The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 through 1932|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rg-UBJaPD-sC&q=%22I%27d+Rather+Be+Blue%22&pg=PA16|date=1 January 2004|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-2029-2|pages=16–}}

Track listing

10" 78 rpm shellac record – Victor 21815, United States

:A. "I'd Rather Be Blue"

:B. "If You Want the Rainbow (You Must Have the Rain)"{{cite book|author=Stanley Green|title=Hollywood Musicals Year by Year|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XD2xNKSN3E8C&q=%22I%27d+Rather+Be+Blue%22&pg=PA244|year=1999|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-0-634-00765-1|pages=244–}}

Fanny Brice version (1928)

Fanny Brice performed the song ("Comedienne with Orchestra") accompanied by Leonard Joy & his orchestra on a Victor sound recording (21815-A), which can be heard on "I'd Rather Be Blue" (Victor recording on the Internet Archive).

Barbra Streisand version

{{Infobox song

| name = I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Barbra Streisand

| album = Funny Girl (The Original Sound Track Recording)

| EP =

| A-side = "Funny Girl"

| B-side = "I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)"

| written =

| published =

| released = 1968

| recorded = June 23, 1968https://www.barbra-archives.info/newpagee2d3bcf3

| studio = Studio C (New York, NY)https://www.barbra-archives.info/newpagee2d3bcf3

| venue =

| genre =

| length = 2:28

| label = Columbia Records

| writer =

| composer = Fred Fisher

| lyricist = Billy Rose

| producer =

| prev_title = Our Corner of the Night

| prev_year = 1968

| title = "Funny Girl" / "I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)"

| next_title = Honey Pie

| next_year = 1969

| prev_track =

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}}

The song was performed by Barbra Streisand in the 1968 film Funny Girl. Her version reached number 19 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/barbra-streisand/chart-history/asi/|title=I'd Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Happy With Somebody Else) Chart History (Adult Contemporary)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2020-03-07}}

= Track listing =

7" 45 rpm vinyl single – Columbia 4-44622, 1968, United States

  1. "Funny Girl"
  2. "I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)"{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Barbra-Streisand-Funny-Girl-Id-Rather-Be-Blue-Over-You-Than-Happy-With-Somebody-Else/master/415856|title=Barbra Streisand - Funny Girl / I'd Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Happy With Somebody Else) at Discogs|work=Discogs|date=1968 |access-date=2018-03-22}}

= Charts =

class="wikitable sortable"
Chart (1968)

!Peak
position

{{singlechart|Billboardadultcontemporary|19|artist=Barbra Streisand|artistid=|song=I'd Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Be Happy With Somebody Else)|year=1968|refname=}}

References