I'm Hearing Red: #15 "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" various artists (1948)

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This standard was written by the prolific and successful team of Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett who made a smooth transition from the big band era to rock. Seemingly everyone recorded their songs. Elvis recorded 43 Tepper-Bennett songs and their compositions were instrumental in making Cliff Richard a superstar in the UK including his biggest hit “The Young Ones.” “Red Roses for a Blue Lady” is a simple romance song. A man is buying red roses after an argument with his wife. Two versions charted simultaneously in January 1949: Vaughan Monroe (#14) and Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians (#10). The song made an inexplicable comeback in 1965 during the British invasion era with three charted covers: Vic Dana (#10), Wayne Newton (#23) and Bert Kaempfert’s instrumental (#11). Who hasn’t covered “Red Roses for a Blue Lady.”