"The One to Sing the Blues" is a song by the British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

, which Epic Records released in a number of formats; 7-inch and 12-inch singles, cassette-single, CD-single as well as a shaped picture disc.Burridge, Alan ''Illustrated Collector's Guide to Motörhead'' Published: 1995, Collector's Guide Publishing . It reached number 45 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It is the opening track on the ''

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

'' album. It was the band's first CD single. Although its official release date is 5 January 1991,

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

stated it "came out a few weeks earlier – on my birthday, as a matter of fact", which is 24 December 1990 continuing to say "that's a really great song – maybe we'll put it back in the set one of these days". Kilmister, Ian Fraser and Garza, Janiss ''White Line Fever'' (2002) –

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

pp. 178–179. .

Critical reception

In review of 5 January 1991 Paul Elliott of Sounds found the main

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

of this song "somewhere between Thin Lizzy's 'Sha La La' and 'Massacre', with some killer lead from Würzel." In the end Elliott summarized: "Still the ugliest, still the loudest."

Single track listing

All songs were written by

, Würzel, Phil Campbell, and Phil Taylor.

7-inch single

# "The One to Sing the Blues" – 3:07 # "Dead Man's Hand" – 3:29

12-inch and CD singles

# "The One to Sing the Blues" – 3:07 # "Dead Man's Hand" – 3:29 # "Eagle Rock" – 3:07 # "Shut You Down" – 2:38

Personnel

bass guitar, lead vocals * Würzelguitar * Phil "Wizzö" Campbellguitar *

Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor Philip John Taylor (21 September 1954 – 12 November 2015), better known as "Philthy Animal", was an English drummer. He was a member of the rock band Motörhead from 1975 to 1984 and 1987 to 1992, recording eleven studio albums and four live ...

drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:One To Sing The Blues, The Motörhead songs 1990 singles 1991 singles Songs written by Phil Taylor (musician) Songs written by Lemmy Songs written by Würzel Songs written by Phil Campbell (musician) 1990 songs Epic Records singles