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These Are the Blues

1963 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 6, 2025
Entity authorityQ1839544
Source-derived summary

These are the Blues is a 1963 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald featuring trumpeter Roy Eldridge and organist Wild Bill Davis. Sleeve artwork was painted by David Stone Martin. This is Fitzgerald's only example of recording an entire album of blues songs.

Track listing

For the 1963 Verve LP release; Verve V6-4060; Re-issued in 1990 on CD, Verve 829 536–2

Side One:

"Jailhouse Blues" (Bessie Smith, Clarence Williams) – 5:25

"In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)" (Leroy Carr, Don Raye) – 4:27

"See See Rider" (Ma Rainey) – 2:39

"You Don't Know My Mind" (Gray, Virginia Liston, Williams) – 4:49

"Trouble in Mind" (Richard M. Jones) – 3:31

Side Two:

"How Long, How Long Blues" (Leroy Carr) – 3:57

"Cherry Red" (Pete Johnson, Big Joe Turner) – 4:09

"Downhearted Blues" (Lovie Austin, Alberta Hunter) – 3:08

"St.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “These Are the Blues” as 1963 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around These, Blues and studio.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1963, 1990—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1963. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with These, Blues and studio providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “These Are the Blues”, the useful work is to connect “1963 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1839544. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1963 and 1990.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “These Are the Blues”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow These Are the Blues primary sources, These Are the Blues archive and These research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “These Are the Blues”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from These Are the Blues” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.