THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

794-Guy Mitchell-Singing the Blues.

1956-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 0.41. Not to be confused with the kind of ‘Blues’ that Lead Belly, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bessie Smith, or B.B. King were known for singing.

Guy Mitchell was born Albert George Cernik, on February 22, 1927, in Detroit, Michigan, United States, to Croatian immigrant parents, he died on July 1st, 1999, of complications from cancer surgery at, the age 72. As well as having a singing career, he was also an actor, notably appearing in ‘Those Redheads From Seattle,’ in 1953, and ‘Red Garters,’ in 1954. At the height of his stardom, between 1957-1958, he had his own television show,’The Guy Mitchell Show,’ on the ‘ABC’ network in America. It was Mitch Miller (1911-2010) who was in charge of talent at ‘Columbia Records,’ who gave him his stage name,’My name is Mitchell, and you seem like a nice guy.’

The discography of Guy Mitchell includes at least 11 Albums released between 1953-1985, and 77 singles (including re-issues) between 1950-1970. In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, 22 of those tracks reached the top 40, with ‘Singing the Blues,’ (1956) and ‘Heartaches By The Number,’ (1959) both making the Number 1 spot. In the UK, he has had 14 top 40 hits, with four of those songs reaching Number 1. Guy Mitchell is also one of the artists who had a single in the very first UK chart, which was published on November 14th, 1952, when ‘Feet Up (Pat Him on the Po-Po’) held the Number 5 position. Including ‘Singing the Blues,’ Guy Mitchell has recorded six songs which have all gone on to be one million selling records worldwide.

‘Singing the Blues’ was the 45th single released by Guy Mitchell, in October 1956. The song was written by Melvin Endsley, (1934-2004) with the production being by Mitch Miller (1911-2010.) The whistling in the song was provided by the American bandleader and musical arranger Ray Conniff (1916-2002.) The original recording of ‘Singing the Blues’ was by the American Country Music singer Marty Robbins, (1925-1982) who took his version to Number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Number 1 on the Billboard Country chart in 1956, and 1957, for 13 weeks. In the 1950’s it was not unusual for more than one version of a song to be in the chart at the same time. The most successful recording of ‘Singing the Blues’ was this version by Guy Mitchell which spent 10 non-consecutive weeks at Number 1 on Billboard. In the UK, the song spent three non-consecutive weeks at Number 1, with another version by ‘Tommy Steele with the Steelmen,’ spending a week at Number 1, in January 1957. In 1983, the American Country/Folk singer Gail Davies, took her version of ‘Singing the Blues’ to Number 17 on the Billboard Country chart, while in the UK, the song has also charted for Dave Edmunds, (1980-Number 28) Daniel O’Donnell, (1994-Number 23) and Cliff Richard & the Shadows (2009-Number 40.)

‘Singing the Blues’ was written by Melvin Endsley, who was born on January 30, 1934, in Drasco, Arkansas, United States, he died on August 16, 2004, at the age of 70. Endsley contracted polio at the age of three, requiring him to have to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. From the age of 11, he spent three years in the ‘Crippled Children’s Hospital,’ in Memphis. While there, he listened to Country Music on the radio, and taught himself to play the guitar. During his lifetime, Endsley wrote in excess of 400 songs, with some of his other notable works being, ‘Knee Deep in the Blues,’ which reached Number 16 on Billboard, and Number 3 in the UK for Guy Mitchell in 1957, the song also made Number 3 on the Billboard Country chart for Marty Robbins. Also in 1957, Andy Williams (1927-2012) reached Number 8 on Billboard, and Number 16 in the UK, with ‘I Like Your Kind of Love,’ while in 1966 the American Country and Folk Music group ‘The Browns,’ reached Number 16 on the Billboard Country chart with ‘I’d Just Be Fool Enough.’

‘Oh, the moon and stars no longer shine, the dream is gone I thought was mine. There’s nothin’ left for me to do, but cry-y-y-y over you.’