Am I Blue?

"Am I Blue?" is a 1929 song composed by Harry Akst (music) and Grant Clarke (lyrics),^[1] and published by M. Witmark & Sons. It was featured in four films that year, most notably with Ethel Waters in the movie On with the Show.^{[citation needed][a]} It has appeared in 42 movies,^{[citation needed]} most recently Funny Lady, The Cotton Club and Downton Abbey: A New Era, and has become a standard covered by numerous artists. As a work from 1929 with its copyright renewed it has entered the public domain as of January 1, 2025.^[b]

Sheet music cover, 1929

Eddie Cochran version

"Am I Blue"
Single by Eddie Cochran
A-side	"Drive In Show"
Released	1957
Recorded	May–August 1957, Gold Star Studios
Genre	Rockabilly
Label	Liberty 55087
Songwriter(s)	Harry Akst Grant Clarke
Producer(s)	Simon Jackson
Eddie Cochran singles chronology
"One Kiss" (1957) "Am I Blue" (1957) "Twenty Flight Rock" (1957)

Eddie Cochran, an early performer of rock and roll music, also recorded his version of "Am I Blue" sometime between May and August 1957. It was released on the B-side of Liberty Records single 55087. The A-side was "Drive In Show" which rose to number 82 on the Billboard charts.

Personnel used in the recording session:

• Eddie Cochran – guitars, ukulele, vocals
• Perry Botkin – rhythm guitar
• Connie "Guybo" Smith – double bass
• The Johnny Mann Chorus – backing vocals

Cher version

"Am I Blue?"
Single by Cher
from the album Bittersweet White Light
B-side	"How Long Has This Been Going On"
Released	1973
Recorded	1973
Genre	Pop
Length	3:47
Label	MCA
Songwriter(s)	Clarke, Akst
Producer(s)	Snuff Garrett Sonny Bono
Cher singles chronology
"Don't Hide Your Love" (1973) "Am I Blue?" (1973) "Half-Breed" (1973)

American singer-actress Cher recorded and released "Am I Blue" in 1973. It was released as the first and only single from her album of standards, Bittersweet White Light. It missed the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Other versions

• Annette Hanshaw recorded the song on May 31, 1929.
• In 1969, Judy Garland and Johnnie Ray performed an (unreleased) duet cover of the song.
• A recording of the song in a medley with "Blue Room" was made on July 14, 1942, by Eddy Duchin and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 36746, with the flip side a medley of "Sometimes I'm Happy" and "Pretty Baby.^[2]"
• In 1954, Dinah Washington recorded the song for the album After Hours with Miss "D"^[3]
• Jeri Southern recorded the song in 1957 for her Decca Records LP Jeri Gently Jumps.^[4]
• In 1957, early teen idol Ricky Nelson included the song on his debut album Ricky.^[5]
• Ray Charles on his 1959 Atlantic album The Genius of Ray Charles^[6]
• In 1961, Fats Domino recorded the song for the album Let the Four Winds Blow.^[7]
• Brenda Lee recorded her version for the album Reflections In Blue (1967).^[8]
• Claudine Longet recorded the song for her 1968 album Colours. It was released as a single by A&M but missed the Hot 100 chart.
• In 1972, Bette Midler recorded the song for her album The Divine Miss M.^[9]
• Barbra Streisand recorded a version of "Am I Blue" (with a comedic ending) for her 1975 film Funny Lady.^[10]
• Willie Nelson recorded it for his album There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight (1978).^[11]
• In 1978, Robert Gordon recorded the song for his Rock Billy Boogie album.^[12]
• Linda Ronstadt recorded the song for her album For Sentimental Reasons (1986).^[13]
• Charlie Rich recorded the song in 1991 for his 1992 release Pictures and Paintings. ^[14]
• Rita Coolidge in 1975 on It’s Only Love,^[15] and again on her 1996 album, Out of the Blues.^[16]
• Grace Knight on her album Keep Cool Fool (2012).

Popular culture

• In 1944, the song was performed by Hoagy Carmichael and Lauren Bacall in the Howard Hawks-directed film To Have and Have Not.
• The tune is played in a scene in the Warner Bros. cartoon Booby Hatched, when a duck is sitting on her eggs, her teeth chattering from the cold.
• In 1987, Charlie Robinson sang the song in the Season 4 episode “Baby Talk” of the sitcom Night Court.
• The deposed Qing emperor Henry Puyi (played by John Lone) sings the song during his 1925–31 playboy days in the Japanese concession of Tianjin in The Last Emperor (1987) by Bernardo Bertolucci.
• Billie Holiday's version of the song (Columbia 37586 US 1947) appeared in the 1989 film Slaves of New York and the 2009 film Public Enemies.
• The song is referenced in James Baldwin's story "Sonny's Blues"
• Diane Lane lipsynced it in the 1984 film The Cotton Club; the song was actually sung by Lesley Miller. It was not released on the soundtrack of the movie.
• In 1985, Nell Carter sang the song on the fifth episode of the fifth season of her hit sitcom Gimme a Break!.
• The song briefly appears in the Freakazoid! episode "Virtual Freak", being sung by the titular character.
• The song was performed by Batman (Kevin Conroy) in the Justice League Unlimited episode "This Little Piggy", as part of a bargain with Circe to release Wonder Woman from a curse placed upon her.

Notes

1. Ethel Waters' 1929 single "Am I Blue?" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007.
2. Numerous renewals in the 1956 catalogs including R1708l4