Singin' the Blues
{{About|the B.B. King album||Singing the Blues (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Singin' the Blues
| type = compilation
| artist = B.B. King
| cover = Singin'_the_blues_small.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|1957|06}}
| recorded = 1951–1956
| genre = Blues
| length =
| label = Crown
| producer =
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = The Blues
| next_year = 1958
}}
Singin' the Blues is the first LP album by American bluesman B.B. King, released in 1957 by the Bihari brothers on their Crown budget label.{{Cite magazine|date=June 10, 1957|title=Reviews and Ratings of New Popular Albums: Rhythm & Blues|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/50s/1957/Billboard%201957-06-10.pdf|magazine=Billboard|pages=32}} It is a compilation album whose songs were issued between 1951 and 1956 on singles by RPM Records and most had reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Race/R&B singles charts.{{sfn|Whitburn|1988|pp=238–239}} King continued to perform and record several of the songs throughout his career, such as "Every Day I Have the Blues", "Woke Up This Morning", and "Sweet Little Angel".{{sfn|Escott|2002|p=67}}
Critical reception
Billboard (June 10, 1957): "One of the better r.&b. artists, a goodly portion of B.B. King's hits have been put together in this set. B.B.'s country blues vocal style, together with his frenetic guitar method, is enough to sell the r.&b. market. Price here is the attraction, too."{{Album ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web
| url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/singin-the-blues-mw0000864733
| last = Dahl
| first = Bill
| title = B.B King: Singin' the Blues{{snd}}Review
| website = AllMusic
| access-date = March 12, 2020
}}
|rev2 = The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings
|rev2score = {{Rating|4|4}}{{cite book |last1=Russell |first1=Tony |last2=Smith |first2=Chris |title=The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings |year=2006 |edition=|publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-140-51384-4|page=354}}
}}
In an overview for AllMusic, critic Bill Dahl rated the album four and a half out of five stars and called it "Absolutely seminal material; his classic hits." The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings says that it is “self-evidently a near-faultless album.”
Reissues
Singin' the Blues has been reissued and repackaged several times, including by P-Vine Records (Japan), Ace Records (UK),
{{cite web
| url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/singin-the-blues-ace-mw0000253467
| title = B.B. King: Singin' the Blues [Ace]{{snd}}Overview
| website = AllMusic
| access-date = March 12, 2020
}} and Flair Records/Virgin Records (US).{{sfn|Schneider|1991|p=3}}
Track listing
Details are taken from the 1991 Flair Records/Virgin Records CD reissue (the original Crown LP does not list running times) and may differ from other sources.{{sfn|Schneider|1991|p=3}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| extra_column = Notes
| all_writing = B.B. King and Jules Taub (a pseudonym of label co-owner Jules Bihari), although several are derived from earlier recordings by other blues artists as noted
|
| title1 = Please Love Me
| length1 = 2:47
| title2 = You Upset Me Baby
| length2 = 3:00
| title3 = Every Day I Have the Blues
| extra3 = Recorded by Memphis Slim {{a.k.a.}} Peter Chatman in 1949{{sfn|Escott|2002|p=42}}
| length3 = 2:46
| title4 = Bad Luck
| length4 = 2:51
| extra4 = Derived from "Bad Luck Blues" by Ivory Joe Hunter in 1946{{sfn|Escott|2002|p=42}}
| title5 = 3 O'Clock Blues
| length5 = 2:59
| extra5 = Recorded by Lowell Fulson in 1948{{sfn|Escott|2002|p=40}}
| title6 = Blind Love
| length6 = 2:54
| extra6 = Derived from "Standing at My Window" by Arthur Crudup (1942){{sfn|Escott|2002|p=41}}
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| extra_column = Notes
| title1 = Woke Up This Morning
| length1 = 2:55
| title2 = You Know I Love You
| length2 = 3:03
| title3 = Sweet Little Angel
| length3 = 2:58
| extra3 = Recorded by Lucille Bogan in 1930 and Tampa Red in 1934 as "Black Angel Blues"{{sfn|Escott|2002|p=42}}
| title4 = Ten Long Years
| length4 = 2:46
| title5 = Did You Ever Love a Woman
| length5 = 2:31
| extra5 = Recorded by Gatemouth Moore in 1945{{sfn|Escott|2002|p=42}}
| title6 = Crying Won't Help You
| length6 = 2:56
| extra6 = Recorded by Tampa Red in 1946{{sfn|Escott|2002|p=42}}
}}
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite AV media notes
| title = B.B. King: The Vintage Years
| others = B.B. King
| year = 2002
| first = Colin
| last = Escott
| author-link=Colin Escott
| type = Box set booklet
| publisher = Ace Records
| id = Ace ABOXCD 8
}}
- {{cite AV media notes
| last = Schneider
| first = Cy
|author-link=
| year = 1991
| title = Singin' the Blues/The Blues
| type = Reissue album notes
| others = B.B. King
| location = Beverly Hills, California
| publisher = Virgin Records
| OCLC =
| id = V2-86296
}}
- {{cite book
| last = Whitburn
| first = Joel
| author-link = Joel Whitburn
| title = Top R&B Singles 1942–1988
| section = B.B. King
| year = 1988
| location = Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
| publisher = Record Research
| isbn = 0-89820-068-7
}}
{{B.B. King}}
{{Authority control}}