Song Sung Blue: #14 "Am I Blue" Ethel Waters (1929)
By John Roberts
@JohnRoberts (109857)
Los Angeles, California
March 7, 2017 8:59am CST
No, not the 1987 George Strait country single.
“Am I blue
Am I blue
Ain’t these tears in my telling you
Am I blue”
I have a fondness for 20s and 30s music where so many songs reflected heartbreak and desperate somberness of the depression. “Am I Blue” is one of former being a torch song about that man who done her wrong. The song was written by Tin Pan Alley veterans Harry Akst (“Dinah”) and Grant Clarke (“Ragtime Cowboy Joe”) and introduced by Ethel Waters in “Move on with the Show.” “Am I Blue” has been frequently covered from Billie Holliday to Linda Ronstadt and even heard in commercials. Rockabilly legend Eddie Cochran did a cover in 1957.
Ethel Waters sings Am I Blue from the 1929 motion picture "On With the Show". This was the first sound movie filmed in color-unfortunately, only black and wh...
8 people like this
7 responses
@FourWalls (62611)
• United States
7 Mar 17
I've always thought Strait's "Am I Blue" probably wouldn't have been written without the standard version heavily influencing it. Ethel had a voice and a half, didn't she?
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
8 Mar 17
I almost went with Linda's cover with Nelson Riddle but stuck with the classic original which is superior and yes, Ethel Waters sounds terrific.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
7 Mar 17
Ethel Waters was a legendary performer. It was she who introduced Stormy Weather which was written for her (not Lena Horne). She was an Oscar nominated actress and one of the first African Americans to achieve major stardom.
1 person likes this
@Ronrybs (17950)
• London, England
7 Mar 17
@JohnRoberts It wasn't that long ago, but not counting me, I wonder how many others don't know her
1 person likes this
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
8 Mar 17
Great talented lady. I hope more people know her, as she was in the business almost 60 years.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (73951)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Mar 17
Nice share. Great to hear some of the music I don't pick up. I will check her out some more on YouTube.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43419)
• Denver, Colorado
8 Mar 17
My girlfriend instantly pointed out it's use in The Shawshank Redemption as I listened.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40246)
• United States
8 Mar 17
I have a friend who loves tunes from the 20s and 30s too
1 person likes this
