Singin' the Blues

Singin' the Blues
Studio album by B.B. King
Released	1956[1]
Genre	Blues
Label	Crown
Producer	Florette Bihari
B.B. King chronology
Singin' the Blues (1956) The Blues (1958)The Blues1958

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
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

1. "Please Love Me" – 2:51
2. "You Upset Me Baby" – 3:04
3. "Every Day I Have the Blues" (Aaron Sparks, credited to Peter Chatman) – 2:49
4. "Bad Luck" (Ivory Joe Hunter, credited to King, Taub) – 2:54
5. "3 O'Clock Blues" (Lowell Fulson, credited to King, Taub) – 3:03
6. "Blind Love" – 3:06

Side two

7. "Woke Up This Morning" – 2:59
8. "You Know I Love You" – 3:06
9. "Sweet Little Angel" (Traditional, credited to King, Taub) – 3:00
10. "Ten Long Years" – 2:49
11. "Did You Ever Love a Woman" (Dwight Moore, credited to King, Taub) – 2:34
12. "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.

13. "Whole Lotta Meat" (King) – 2:32
14. "I'm Cracking Up Over You" – 3:23
15. "I Stay in the Mood" (Joe Josea, King) – 2:55
16. "When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer 'Million Years Blues'" (John Williamson) – 2:58
17. "Jump with You Baby" – 2:14
18. "Lonely and Blue" (John Costa Jr., John Erby) – 2:58
19. "Dark Is the Night, Pt. 'the Blues Has Got Me'" (Maxwell Davis, King, Taub) – 2:41
20. "Ruby Lee" – 3:01

Personnel

Performance

• Red Callender – bass^[10]
• Maxwell Davis – tenor saxophone
• Jewell L. Grant – alto saxophone
• Billy Hadnot – bass
• Ralph Hamilton – bass
• Lorenzo Holden – tenor saxophone
• B. B. King – guitar, vocals
• Willard McDaniel – piano
• Jack McVea – tenor saxophone
• Bumps Myers – tenor saxophone
• Jake "Vernon" Porter – trumpet
• Jesse Price – drums
• Jesse Sailes – drums
• Maurice Simon – tenor saxophone
• Floyd Turnham – alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
• Charles Waller – tenor saxophone

Production

• Roger Armstrong – tape archivist
• Jon Broven – compilation, annotation
• Brian Burrows – package design
• Duncan Cowell – mastering, mixing, restoration
• Cy Schneider – liner notes

References