Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: Count Basie

1920s, Pop

Blue Skies

First recorded by Vaughn De Leath (1927).
Popular recordings by Ben Selvin (US #1 1927), Al Jolson (1927, in The Jazz Singer), Benny Goodman (1935), Count Basie & His Orchestra (US #8 1946), Bing Crosby (1946), Willie Nelson (MOR #32/C&W #1/CAN #1 1978).
Inspired Theolonious Monk “In Walked Bud” (1947).

From the wiki: “‘Blue Skies’ was composed by Irving Berlin in 1926 as a last-minute addition to the Rodgers and Hart musical Betsy. Although the show ran for 39 performances only, the song was an instant success, with audiences on opening night demanding 24 encores of the piece from star Belle Baker. During the final repetition, Ms. Baker forgot her lyrics, prompting Berlin to sing them from his seat in the front row.

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1930s, Blues

Every Day I Have the Blues

First recorded by “Pinetop” Sparks (1935).
Also recorded by Memphis Slim (1949).
Hit versions by Lowell Fulson (R&B #3 1950), Joe Williams (R&B #8 1952), B.B. King (R&B #8 1955), The Count Basie Orchestra with Joe Williams (R&B #2 1955).

From the wiki: “‘Every Day I Have the Blues’ is a Blues song that has been performed in a variety of styles. An early version of the song is attributed to Pinetop Sparks and his brother Milton (or Marion), and was first performed in the taverns of St. Louis by the Sparks brothers. It was first recorded on July 28, 1935 by Pinetop with Henry Townsend on guitar. After a reworking of the song by Memphis Slim in 1949 (see below), ‘Every Day’ became a Blues standard with renditions recorded by numerous artists.

“Four different versions of ‘Every Day I Have the Blues’ have reached the R&B Top 10. Two recordings – one by B.B. King, and one by Count Basie with Joe Williams – have received Grammy Hall of Fame Awards. Williams first recorded and charted ‘Every Day’ for Chess in 1952 with the King Kolax Orchestra before re-recording the song again in 1955 with the Basie orchestra, a version that spent twenty-weeks on the R&B chart.

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