Today I Sing the Blues

1960 single by Aretha Franklin

"Today I Sing the Blues"

Single by Aretha Franklin

from the album Aretha

B-side

"Love is the Only Thing"

Released

October, 1960

Genre

Blues

Length

2:47

Label

Columbia Records 41793

Songwriter(s)

Curtis Lewis

Producer(s)

John Hammond

Aretha Franklin singles chronology

"Precious Lord (Part 1)"
(1959)

"Today I Sing the Blues"
(1960)

"Won't Be Long"
(1960)

"Today I Sing the Blues" is a song written by Curtis Lewis and performed by Aretha Franklin. The song reached number 10 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1960.^[1] The song appeared on her 1961 album, Aretha.^[2] The song was produced by John Hammond.^[3]^[4] Franklin re-recorded the song in 1969 on the album Soul '69 and it reached number 101 on the U.S. pop chart.^[5] It also charted on the Cash Box Top 100 chart.

"Today I Sing the Blues", originally written in 1948 and recorded the same year by Helen Humes and Buck Clayton's Orchestra, was included in the second album of Sam Cooke, Encore, recorded in 1958.

Chart performance

Aretha Franklin

Chart	Peak position
U.S. R&B chart	10
U.S. Pop chart	101

Cover versions

In 2012, Christine Anu covered the song on her album Rewind: The Aretha Franklin Songbook.

References

^ Aretha Franklin, "Today I Sing the Blues" chart position. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
^ Aretha Franklin, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
^ Aretha Franklin, "Today I Sing the Blues". Retrieved September 13, 2013.
^ John Hammond interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1970).
^ Aretha Franklin, "Today I Sing the Blues" chart position. Retrieved September 13, 2013.

Aretha Franklin

Studio albums

Aretha (1961)
The Electrifying Aretha Franklin (1962)
The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin (1962)
Laughing on the Outside (1963)
Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington (1964)
Runnin' Out of Fools (1964)
Yeah!!! (1965)
Songs of Faith (1965)
Soul Sister (1966)
Take It Like You Give It (1967)
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967)
Aretha Arrives (1967)
Lady Soul (1968)
Aretha Now (1968)
Soul '69 (1969)
Soft and Beautiful (1969)
This Girl's in Love with You (1970)
Spirit in the Dark (1970)
Young, Gifted and Black (1972)
Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky) (1973)
Let Me in Your Life (1974)
With Everything I Feel in Me (1974)
You (1975)
Sparkle (1976)
Sweet Passion (1977)
Almighty Fire (1978)
La Diva (1979)
Aretha (1980)
Love All the Hurt Away (1981)
Jump to It (1982)
Get It Right (1983)
Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985)
Aretha (1986)
Through the Storm (1989)
What You See Is What You Sweat (1991)
A Rose Is Still a Rose (1998)
So Damn Happy (2003)
This Christmas, Aretha (2008)
A Woman Falling Out of Love (2011)
Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics (2014)

Live albums

Aretha in Paris (1968)
Aretha Live at Fillmore West (1971)
Amazing Grace (1972)
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (1987)
Oh Me Oh My: Aretha Live in Philly, 1972 (2007)

Compilation
albums

Take a Look (1967)
Aretha's Gold (1969)
Aretha's Greatest Hits (1971)
The Best of Aretha Franklin (1973)
Aretha Sings the Blues (1980)
30 Greatest Hits (1985)
Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings (1992/2014)
Greatest Hits: 1980–1994 (1994)
The Very Best of Aretha Franklin, Vol. 1 (1994)
Greatest Hits (1998)
Aretha's Best (2001)
Respect: The Very Best of Aretha Franklin (2002)
The Queen in Waiting: The Columbia Years (1960–1965) (2002)
Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul (2007)
Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen (2007)
A Brand New Me (2017)
The Atlantic Singles Collection 1967–1970 (2018)