A Mess of Blues
"A Mess of Blues" is a song originally recorded by Elvis Presley for RCA Records in 1960, and written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Although released as the B-side to "It's Now or Never", "A Mess of Blues" reached number 32 in the U.S. It reached number 2 in the UK as an A-side.
| "A Mess of Blues" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Elvis Presley | ||||
| A-side | "It's Now or Never" (US) | |||
| B-side | "The Girl of My Best Friend" (international) | |||
| Released | July 5, 1960 | |||
| Recorded | March 20, 1960 | |||
| Genre | Blues[1] | |||
| Length | 2:40 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | |||
| Elvis Presley singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Elvis Presley UK singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was published by Elvis Presley Music, Inc.
The recording appeared on the 1968 RCA Victor compilation Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4.
Personnel
Sourced from Keith Flynn.[2]
The Blue Moon Boys
- Elvis Presley - lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
- Scotty Moore - lead guitar
- D. J. Fontana - drums
- Additional musicians
- Hank Garland - six-string bass guitar
- Bob Moore - double bass
- Floyd Cramer - piano
- Buddy Harman - drums
- The Jordanaires (Gordon Stoker, Neal Matthews, Hoyt Hawkins, Ray Walker) - backing vocals
Status Quo cover
| "A Mess of Blues" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Status Quo | ||||
| from the album Back to Back | ||||
| Released | 28 October 1983 [3] | |||
| Genre | Boogie rock | |||
| Length | 3:22 | |||
| Label | Vertigo | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | |||
| Producer(s) | Status Quo | |||
| Status Quo singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"A Mess of Blues" was covered by British rock band Status Quo in 1983. It was included on the album Back to Back[4] from which it was the second UK single, reaching a peak position of No. 15.
Due to a printing error, several hundred copies of the picture sleeve for this release were printed with the front and rear photographs inter-changed.
7" single
- "A Mess of Blues" (D Pomus/M Shuman) (3.22)
- "Big Man" (Lancaster/Green) (3.40)
12" single
- "A Mess of Blues" (Extended version) (D Pomus/M Shuman) (4.48)
- "Big Man" (Lancaster/Green) (3.40)
- "Young Pretender" (Rossi/Frost) (3.32)
Other versions
The song has been recorded by Tom Jones and Jools Holland, Peter and Gordon, John Hiatt, Jeff Healey, Alexis Korner, Delbert McClinton, Lee Curtis and the All-Stars, Henry McCullough Blues Band, Scotty Moore and Paul Ansell, Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding with The Jordanaires, P.J. Proby, Chris Wilson, and Led Zeppelin as part of a medley.[5]
Chart history
- Elvis Presley
| Chart (1960) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 11 |
| Belgium | 20 |
| New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[6] | 6 |
| Norway | 4 |
| UK | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7] | 32 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 | 84 |
- Status Quo
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[8] | 12 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[9] | 15 |
References
- Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
- Keith Flynn. Recording Sessions.
- "Status Quo singles".
- "Status Quo discography". statusquo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-02-25. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- Mess of Blues. Second Hand Songs.
- "Flavour of New Zealand, 27 October 1960". Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – A Mess of Blues". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
