Singin' the Blues
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| Allmusic |   [2] |
Singin' the Blues is the 1956 debut album by blues performer B.B. King, issued by the Bihari brothers on their budget Crown label.[3] Among its tracks, the album gathered together five charting singles. "You Upset Me, Baby" was the highest charting single, reaching number one on Billboard's "Black Singles" chart.[4] Other charting singles include "Every Day I Have the Blues" (number eight), "Ten Long Years" (number nine), "Crying Won't Help You" (number fifteen), "Bad Luck" (number three) and "Sweet Little Angel" (number six).
The album was originally released on the Crown subsidiary of Modern Records and has been reissued several times, as part of a two-album combined compact disc alongside King's second release The Blues[5] and with bonus tracks by P-Vine Records (Japan) an Ace Records (UK).[6][7] On "Please Love Me", King combines T-Bone Walker's hard-picking, distorted guitar style with his own mournful singing.[8]
Track listing
All tracks written by B.B. King and Jules Taub, except where noted.[9]
Side one
- "Please Love Me" – 2:51
- "You Upset Me Baby" – 3:04
- "Every Day I Have the Blues" (Aaron Sparks, credited to Peter Chatman) – 2:49
- "Bad Luck" (Ivory Joe Hunter, credited to King, Taub) – 2:54
- "3 O'Clock Blues" (Lowell Fulson, credited to King, Taub) – 3:03
- "Blind Love" – 3:06
Side two
- "Woke Up This Morning" – 2:59
- "You Know I Love You" – 3:06
- "Sweet Little Angel" (Traditional, credited to King, Taub) – 3:00
- "Ten Long Years" – 2:49
- "Did You Ever Love a Woman" (Dwight Moore, credited to King, Taub) – 2:34
- "Crying Won't Help You" (Hudson Whittaker, credited to King, Taub) – 3:00
CD re-release bonus tracks
Bonus tracks on both the re-releases by P-Vine and Ace. Except where otherwise noted, all songs by King and Taub.
- "Whole Lotta Meat" (King) – 2:32
- "I'm Cracking Up Over You" – 3:23
- "I Stay in the Mood" (Joe Josea, King) – 2:55
- "When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer 'Million Years Blues'" (John Williamson) – 2:58
- "Jump with You Baby" – 2:14
- "Lonely and Blue" (John Costa Jr., John Erby) – 2:58
- "Dark Is the Night, Pt. 'the Blues Has Got Me'" (Maxwell Davis, King, Taub) – 2:41
- "Ruby Lee" – 3:01
Personnel
Performance
- B. B. King – guitar, vocals
- Red Callender, Ralph Hamilton, Billy Hadnot – bass guitar[10]
- Maxwell Davis, Maurice Simon, Lorenzo Holden, Jack McVea, Charles Waller, Bumps Myers – tenor saxophone
- Jewell L. Grant – alto saxophone
- Willard McDaniel – piano
- Jake Porter – trumpet
- Jesse Price, Jesse Sailes – drums
- Floyd Newman – alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
Production
- Roger Armstrong – tape archivist
- Jon Broven – compilation, annotation
- Brian Burrows – package design
- Duncan Cowell – mastering, mixing, restoration
- Cy Schneider – liner notes
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Danchin, Sebastian (1998). Blues Boy: The Life and Music of B.B. King. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 57. ISBN 1-57806-017-6.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Singin' the Blues (Crown) Billboard at AllMusic
- ^ Singin' the Blues/The Blues at AllMusic
- ^ Singin' the Blues (P-Vine) at AllMusic
- ^ Singin' the Blues (Ace) at AllMusic
- ^ Brackett, Nathan (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 452. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Track list order from album back cover; times and additional composer information from Singin' the Blues (Ace) at AllMusic
- ^ Personnel for the original and re-release are combined.
