Blue (Bill Mack song)
"Blue" is a song released in 1958 by Bill Mack, an American songwriter-country artist and country radio disc jockey. It has since been covered by several artists, in particular by country singer LeAnn Rimes, whose 1996 version became a hit. The song won Mack the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Country Song,[6] a 1996 Academy of Country Music Award for Song of the Year,[7] a 1997 Country Music Association Awards nomination for Song of the Year,[8] a 1997 Country Radio Music Awards nomination for Song of the Year,[9] and is included on the CMT list of the top 100 country songs of all time.[10] Rimes' rendition won the 1996 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
Polly Stephens Exley version[edit]
In the late 1980s, Fort Worth singer-songwriter Polly Stephens Exley (also known as Polly Stephens, Polly Exley and Pauline Stephens) recorded "Blue"[19][34] but released less than 500 tapes.[35] On February 13, 1997, Exley filed a trial by jury suit in a Tarrant County federal court, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, for copyright infringement against Bill Mack, Broadcast Music, Carlin America, Curb Records, Fort Knox Music, Hal Leonard Corporation and Trio Music.[36] Exley stated that she wrote the second verse of "Blue" in 1987 and should be compensated with 50 percent of the writer's royalties.[37] In September 1997, the parties said they had settled the dispute awarding royalties to Polly Stephens Exley, but was issued a gag order not to publicly talk about her role in the writing of the song. In January 1998, the case was dismissed.[36] Exley re-recorded the song on October 1, 1997, with a transfer of copyright, and had it copyrighted on January 20, 1998, for Fort Knox Music and Trio Music.[38]
"Blue"
- "The Light in Your Eyes" (U.S.)
- "How Do I Live" (UK), "Undeniable" (UK)
June 4, 1996[39]
2:49 ("Blue")
2:34 ("Lady & Gentlemen")
Bill Mack
Wilbur C. Rimes ("Blue")
Darrell Brown, LeAnn Rimes ("Lady & Gentlemen")