Blue (Bill Mack song)
| "Blue" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Bill Mack | ||||
| B-side | Faded Rose | |||
| Released | 1958[1] | |||
| Format | 45 rpm | |||
| Recorded | 1956[2] Nesman Recording Studios in Wichita Falls, Texas[2] |
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| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:28 | |||
| Label | Starday Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Bill Mack | |||
| Bill Mack singles chronology | ||||
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"Blue" is a song written in 1956 by Bill Mack, an American songwriter-country artist and country radio disc jockey. It has since been covered by several artists, in particular by country singer LeAnn Rimes whose 1996 version became a hit. The song won Mack the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Country Song.[4] and is included on the CMT list of the top 100 country songs of all time.[5]
Contents |
[edit] Composition
"Blue" is a heartache ballad about a lonely woman who is wondering why her lover can't be blue or lonely over her. However she later realizes, that words her lover had whispered were only lies:
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- "Blue
- Oh, so lonesome for you
- Why can't you be blue over me?"
[edit] History
Contrary to popular opinion, Mack has denied that Patsy Cline was his inspiration for writing the song.
"Nothing inspired me to write the song. I was living in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1956 and was simply strumming on the guitar in my den. Suddenly, the lyrics and melody came to me in a matter of minutes. Jackie, my wife at the time, rushed into the den and said, 'I love that song you were singing! Where did you find it?' I replied, I just wrote it.'"[2]
Although "Blue" was composed by Mack in 1956, he did not record it until 1958,[2] for Starday Records[1] in Nesman Recording Studios, Wichita Falls, Texas. He released it as a 45rpm single, backed by "Faded Rose".
His recording received limited amount of radio airplay, but it did not become popular. However, disc jockey Snuff Garrett strongly believed the song to be a "surefire hit for the future," so Mack hired a a local singer to make a demo tape recording of "Blue" and placed it on a stack of many other songs he had written.[2] Mack's friend Roy Drusky suggested he pitch "Blue" to Patsy Cline in an effort to make the song a hit, therefore Mack gave a tape to Cline's husband Charlie Dick, but Cline died in a plane crash in 1963 before she could record it.[6] Although it was claimed that Mack had been waiting to find the right vocalist to record "Blue" for all that time, the song was recorded by at least four artists (Mack himself, Roy Drusky, Kathryn Pitt,and Kenny Roberts) prior to Rimes.[7]
[edit] LeAnn Rimes version
| "Blue" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by LeAnn Rimes | ||||
| from the album Blue & Lady & Gentlemen | ||||
| B-side | The Light in Your Eyes | |||
| Released | June 4, 1996[8] | |||
| Format | CD single, digital download, vinyl single[9] | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:47 (Blue) 2:34 (Lady & Gentlemen) |
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| Label | Curb | |||
| Writer(s) | Bill Mack | |||
| Producer | Wilbur C. Rimes (Blue) Darrell Brown, LeAnn Rimes (Lady & Gentlemen) |
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| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| LeAnn Rimes singles chronology | ||||
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Rimes first recorded the song when she was 11 years old on an independent album, All That (1994), under the label Nor Va Jak.[10][11] The song was re-recorded for her Blue album in 1996 when she was 13.[12]
Her rendition of "Blue" debuted at #49 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles And Tracks for the week of May 25, 1996, but was soon released to country radio and became a major hit that summer,[7] peaking at #10 on the Billboard Country Chart and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100, while also reaching #1 on the Canadian Country RPM singles chart. Rime's "Blue" album was also released the same year and sold six million copies (6× Multi-Platinum) in the United States.
"The Light in Your Eyes" was originally slated to be the A-side of LeAnn's first single, for which she also filmed her first video. A clip of the originally-intended B-side "Blue" was only included as a ten-second tag on the promo record sent to radio stations, but when disc jockeys responded more favorably to "Blue", the A and B sides were reversed and it became her first single instead.
Rimes re-recorded the song for her new album, Lady & Gentlemen, which was released on September 27, 2011. The song is credited with Time Jumpers and is produced by Darrell Brown and Rimes herself.[13]
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A twenty-eight second sample of Rimes' "Blue", featuring the lyrics,
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[edit] Critical Reception
Shawn Haney of Allmusic called the song a "sleeper hit" and that is was a "radio-friendly airplay single" and claimed that the song should "affect listeners in a charismatic and lighthearted way."[14]
When re-released on Lady & Gentlemen Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called the new recording "illustrates just how far she’s come -- how she’s become a stronger, more nuanced singer over the years."[15]
[edit] Chart performance
"Blue" debuted at #49 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of May 25, 1996. The single was released to country radio in 1996 and became a major hit that summer,[7] peaking at #10 on the Billboard Country Chart and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100, while also reaching #1 on the Canadian Country RPM singles chart. Her album of the same was also released the same year and sold 123,000 copies within its first week, eventually selling six million copies (6× Multi-Platinum) in the United States.
[edit] Music Video
The music video featured Rimes sitting by a pool in the summer with sunglasses on, while a young boy passes her by.[16] It debuted on CMT's Top 20 Video Countdown in 1996.[citation needed]
[edit] Track listing
US CD single[8]
- "Blue" – 2:47
- "The Light in Your Eyes" – 3:20
UK Maxi CD single[17]
- "Blue" – 2:47
- "How Do I Live" – 4:27
- "Undeniable" – 3:44
[edit] Charts
[edit] Peak positions
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[edit] Year-end chart
[edit] Certifications
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[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Blue"/"Faded Rose" (1958), catalog 45-360, Starday Records. globaldogproductions.info
- ^ a b c d e Philpot, Robert (2011-11-03). "Bill Mack looks back on 'Blue'". Dfw.com. http://www.dfw.com/2011/11/03/532837/bill-mack-looks-back-on-blue.html.
- ^ Long, Long Train b/w I'll Still Be Here Tomorrow Amazon.com
- ^ "1996 Grammy Award Winners". Grammy.com. http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=&title=&year=1996&genre=All. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ "TOP 100 COUNTRY SONGS of-all-time by CMT". CMT Get Country. http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn/greatest_series/76599/episode.jhtml. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
- ^ Mitchell, Rick (1996-11-03). "Nothing Blue About LeAnn Rimes". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1996_1375820/nothing-blue-about-leann-rimes.html.
- ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Biography - LeAnn Rimes". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p182450. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ a b "Blue / The Light in Your Eyes: LeAnn Rimes: Music". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000000CR9. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
- ^ "Blue/The Light In Your Eyes: Leann Rimes: Music". Amazon.com. 2009-09-09. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UJISIE. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
- ^ "All That: LeAnn Rimes: Music". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007Z1C8W. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
- ^ (1994) Album notes for All That by LeAnn Rimes [CD]. Nor Va Jak (98081-1234-2).
- ^ CMT Inside Fame: LeAnn Rimes CMT (2004-4-12) Retrieved 2011-10-8
- ^ (2011) Album notes for Lady & Gentlemen by LeAnn Rimes [CD]. Curb Records (D2-79203).
- ^ Haney, Shawn M.. "Blue - LeAnn Rimes". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-r237851. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (2011-09-27). "Lady & Gentlemen - LeAnn Rimes". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/lady-gentlemen-r2267721/review. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
- ^ "Videos : LeAnn Rimes : Blue". CMT. http://www.cmt.com/videos/rimes_leann/46948/.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ^ UK Maxi CD single references:
- "Blue/How Do I Live: Leann Rimes: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-How-Do-I-Live/dp/B00000G526/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1319561229&sr=1-3. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
- "Blue: Leann Rimes: Amazon.com: Music". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Leann-Rimes/dp/B00000G5RK/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1319561309&sr=1-3. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
- ^ "Australian-charts.com – LeAnn Rimes – Blue". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3052&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=n5iu2va29ccgqnv2o3oo8iobc5. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ^ "Leann Rimes - Blue". Chart Stats. 1999-01-16. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=26717. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ^ "LeAnn Rimes Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for LeAnn Rimes. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
- ^ "LeAnn Rimes Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Country Songs for LeAnn Rimes. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
- ^ "American single certifications – LeAnn Rimes – Blue". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Blue%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "No One Needs to Know" by Shania Twain |
RPM Country Tracks number-one single July 29-August 5, 1996 |
Succeeded by "Sure Enough" by Chris Cummings |
