| "I Almost Lost My Mind" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Ivory Joe Hunter | |
| Recorded | October 1, 1949 |
| Genre | Rhythm and blues |
| Songwriter(s) | Ivory Joe Hunter |
"I Almost Lost My Mind" is a popular song written by Ivory Joe Hunter and published in 1950. Hunter's recording of the song was a number one hit on the US Billboard R&B chart in that year.[1]
In this song, the narrator, whose lover had left him, for no reason at all, had almost lost his mind. He goes to see the gypsy to have his fortune read, who turns out to be bad news, stating that his lover had left him forever, gone for good.
The recording of the 12-bar blues by R&B star Ivory Joe Hunter was made on October 1, 1949 and was a rhythm and blues hit that became a pop standard. The best selling version of the song was a cover version by Pat Boone, hitting number one on the Billboard charts in 1956.[2]
It has since been recorded by a variety of pop artists, big bands, country and western stars, rock and rollers, and Latin, jazz and blues performers. Big Walter Horton's instrumental "Easy", recorded in 1953, was based on "I Almost Lost My Mind". It is still enormously popular and is played by virtually every professional harmonica player.
Recorded versions
- Ray Anthony 1962
- Eddy Arnold 1973
- Bill Black 1960
- Jeanne Black 1961 [3]
- Pat Boone 1956 Pat Boone Sings The Hits #1 US/# 14 UK
- Ray Bryant 1965
- Solomon Burke 1962
- Jerry Butler 1963
- Chubby Checker 1961
- Eddie Cochran 1963
- Nat King Cole 1950
- Cookie & The Cupcakes 1974 Cookie & The Cupcakes, Shelton Dunaway, Lil Alfred – 3 Great Rockers!
- James Cotton 2004
- Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1956[4] for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the box set The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56) issued by Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009.[5]
- Arthur Big Boy Crudup 1997
- Blind John Davis
- The Spencer Davis Group
- Fats Domino 1978
- Duane Eddy - Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel (1958)
- The Everly Brothers 1965
- Georgie Fame 1995
- Mary Flower 2001
- Connie Francis - Rock 'n' Roll Million Sellers (1959)
- Bill Haley & His Comets 1960
- Lionel Hampton 1950
- The Harptones 1955
- Woody Herman 1971
- Big Walter Horton
- Ivory Joe Hunter 1949
- Ferlin Husky 1967
- Joni James 1962
- Nigel Kennedy 2006 Blue Note Sessions
- Albert King 1967
- The Legendary Blues Band 1983
- Barbara Mandrell 1971
- Gene McDaniels 1962
- Wes Montgomery 2001 Wes Montgomery With Lionel Hampton – Complete Recordings
- Mouth & MacNeal 1972
- Willie Nelson 1985
- Pinetop Perkins 1995
- Alan Price 1977
- Louis Prima 1950 [[Angelina [Viper's Nest] ]]
- Charlie Rich 1970
- Demis Roussos 1984
- Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women 1990
- Jimmy Smithh 1964 Jimmy Smith With Stanley Turrentine – Prayer Meetin'
- Keely Smith 1950 [[Angelina [Viper's Nest] ]]
- Hank Snow 1975
- Floyd Tillman 1950
- Ernest Tubb 1964 Ernest Tubb And His Texas Troubadours – Thanks A Lot
- Conway Twitty 1963 R&B '63
- Billy Vaughn 1959 Golden Saxophones
- Fran Warren 1950
- The Wilburn Brothers 1960 The Big Heartbreak
- Zalman Yanovsky 1968 Alive and Well in Argentina
See also
- List of number-one R&B singles of 1950 (U.S.)
- List of number-one singles of 1956 (U.S.)
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 267.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. New York: Billboard Books. p. 75. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
- ^ "Jeanne Black, A Little Bit Lonely". Retrieved November 26, 2016.
- ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 3, 2017.