"Big Blue Diamonds" is a song written by Earl J. (Kit) Carson in 1950 and published by Lois Music, BMI. It was first recorded by the country singer,

Red Perkins Frank Shelton "Red" Perkins (December 26, 1890 – September 27, 1976) was an American jazz trumpet player, singer, and bandleader. Perkins led of one of the oldest Omaha, Nebraska-based jazz territory bands, The Dixie Ramblers, and saw his gr ...

, and originally issued as a

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...

single on King Records #903 b/w "Rag Man Boogie" in 1950. Many artists have recorded the song throughout the years, sometimes with a variation of the title including: "Blue Diamond", "Big Blue Diamond", and "Big Blue Diamonds". One of the best-selling versions of the song was recorded in 1962 by

Little Willie John William Edward "Little Willie" John (November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968) was an American R&B singer who performed in the 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his successes on the record charts, with songs such as " All Around the World" (1 ...

on King Records which made the ''Billboard'' charts. Gene Summers with the Tom Toms had his biggest-selling single with the song in 1964 on

Jamie Records Jamie Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1956 by Harold Lipsius (1913–2007) and Allan Sussel (1924–2003). Their first 45rpm single, "It's Great to Fall in Love"/"Truly" by Marian Caruso, was issued in 1956. Th ...

and it became his signature song throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Country singer

Jacky Ward Jacky Ward (born November 18, 1942, Groveton, Texas, United States) is an American country music artist. He is popularly known worldwide for his 1977 hit single " Fools Fall in Love". Between 1972 and 1982, he released four albums with Mercury ...

covered the Summers version in 1972, where it reached #39 on the US County chart. Although "Big Blue Diamonds" was originally written as a country song it has been able to switch genres from

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

Other versions

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...

(1950) * Jimmy Dean and his Texas Wildcats (1955) *Jack Lionel (1961) *

Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs Domingo "Sam" Samudio (born February 28, 1937, in Dallas, Texas, United States), better known by his stage name Sam the Sham, is a retired American rock and roll singer. Sam the Sham was known for his camp robe and turban and hauling his equipme ...

(1965) *Tommy Tate (1966) *

Little Johnny Taylor Little Johnny Taylor (born Johnny Lamont Merrett; February 11, 1943 – May 17, 2002) was an American blues and soul singer. He made recordings throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and continued public performances through the 1980s and 1990s. Bi ...

(1967) *

Gene Summers David Eugene Summers (January 3, 1939 – February 17, 2021) was an American rockabilly singer, songwriter and guitarist. His most famous recordings include the late 50s "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", " Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That ...

(1971) ''(new version)'' *

Arthur Prysock Arthur Prysock Jr. (January 1, 1924 Mel Street King Malachi "Mel" Street (October 21, 1935 – October 21, 1978) was an American country music singer who had 13 top-20 hits on the Billboard charts, Billboard country charts. Biography Street was born near Grundy, Virginia, United States.Nel ...

(1972) *

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

(1972) *

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

(1974) *

Willy DeVille Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, DeVille created orig ...

(1990) *

Don Walser Donald Ray Walser (September 14, 1934 – September 20, 2006) was an American country music singer. He was known as a unique, award-winning yodeling "Texas country music legend." Music career Walser was born in Brownfield, Texas and raised i ...

(1996) *

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 196 ...

(August 31, 2004) *

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

(March 7, 2006)

References

Other sources

*''Texas Music'' by Rick Koster, published by St. Martin's Press, USA, 1996, page 84, ref: 'Gene Summers / Big Blue Diamonds' *''Osborne Record Guide'' - Fifteenth Edition by Jerry Osborne, published by Crown Publishing, USA, 2001 *''Rockabilly: A Forty-Year Journey'' by Billy Poore, published by Hal Leonard Corporation, USA, 1998, *''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits'' by Joel Whitburn, ASIN: B008SLHOMA *''A Dream Deferred'' by Matt Weitz, ''

Dallas Observer ''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

'', July 31 - August 6, 1997, Volume 752, pages 73–79

External links

Rockin' Country StyleRockabilly Hall of FameKing Records DiscographyBMI RepertoireARSA Radio Surveys ArchiveIndiana45s/Rusty ColeHillbilly-Music.com "Texas Music" by Rick Koster
{{authority control 1962 singles 1963 singles 1971 singles Gene Summers songs Jacky Ward songs Tex Ritter songs Jimmy Dean songs Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs songs Ernest Tubb songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs Percy Sledge songs Van Morrison songs 1950 songs King Records (United States) singles