''Singin' the Blues'' is the first

LP album The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

by American bluesman

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

, released in 1957 by the

Bihari brothers The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origins. They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. The Bihari brothers wer ...

on their

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

budget label. It is a compilation album whose songs were issued between 1951 and 1956 on singles by RPM Records and most had reached the Top 10 on ''Billboard'''s Race/R&B singles charts. King continued to perform and record several of the songs throughout his career, such as "

Every Day I Have the Blues "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. It was first performed in the taverns of St. Louis by the Spark ...

", "Woke Up This Morning", and "

Sweet Little Angel Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' (June 10, 1957): "One of the better r.&b. artists, a goodly portion of B.B. King's hits have been put together in this set. B.B.'s country blues vocal style, together with his frenetic guitar method, is enough to sell the r.&b. market. Price here is the attraction, too." In an overview for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, critic Bill Dahl rated the album four and a half out of five stars and called it "Absolutely seminal material; his classic hits." ''

The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings'' is an encyclopedia of blues music albums released on CD. Content The book was released on 31 October 2006 and was written by Tony Russell and Chris Smith with contributions by Neil Slaven, Ricky Russel ...

'' says that it is “self-evidently a near-faultless album.”

Reissues

''Singin' the Blues'' has been reissued and repackaged several times, including by P-Vine Records (Japan), Ace Records (UK), and

Flair Records Flair Records was an American record label owned by the Bihari brothers, launched in the early 1950s. It was a subsidiary of Modern Records. Its most famous artist were Elmore James, who released ten singles with this label (as listed below), R ...

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

(US).

Track listing

Details are taken from the 1991

CD reissue (the original Crown LP does not list running times) and may differ from other sources.

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control B.B. King compilation albums Crown Records albums 1957 compilation albums