"I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome" is a song by bluegrass icon Bill Monroe. It is the only song credited to Monroe and

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

Background

The facts surrounding the authorship of "I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome" remain cloudy. After joining the ''

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

'' in 1949, Williams worked several shows with Monroe, whose bluegrass sound was becoming just as popular in the south as the honky tonk music Hank played. According to Colin Escott's book ''Hank Williams: The Biography'', Hank played the song for Monroe somewhere on tour in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and somehow Monroe wound up with a credit: :"There were rumors that the song's notional writer, 'James B. Smith,' was a pseudonym for Hank and Bill Monroe, but it appears as though the royalties went solely to Monroe until

Acuff-Rose Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was an American music publishing firm formed in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Acuff-Rose's honest behavior towards their writers set them apart from other music publishing firms ...

challenged for a share in the 1990s. Monroe later asserted that he wrote some of the song, but his sideman, Jimmy Martin, who was with Hank and Monroe at the time, insists that Hank wrote it all." Monroe recorded "I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome" in February 1950 during his first sessions for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

, and it became a bluegrass classic. Monroe would also cut Hank's "Alabama Waltz."

Discography

References

1951 singles Hank Williams songs Bill Monroe songs {{1950s-country-song-stub