Big Blue Diamonds

"Big Blue Diamonds"
Song

"Big Blue Diamonds" is a song written by Earl J. (Kit) Carson in 1950 and published by Lois Music, BMI. It was first recorded by Red Perkins and originally issued as a 78rpm single on King Records #903 b/w "Rag Man Boogie" in 1950. Many artists have recorded the song throughout the years, sometimes with a variation of the title including: "Blue Diamond," "Big Blue Diamond," and "Big Blue Diamonds."

One of the best-selling versions of the song was recorded in 1962 by Little Willie John on King Records which made the Billboard charts. Gene Summers with the Tom Toms had his biggest-selling single with the song in 1963 on Jamie Records and it became his signature song throughout the 1960s and '70s. Country singer Jacky Ward covered the Summers version in 1972 where it reached #39 on the US County chart.

Although "Big Blue Diamonds" was originally written as a country song it has been able to switch genres from country to rhythm and blues to rock 'n roll to jazz.

Other versions

• Tex Ritter (1950)
• Jimmy Dean and his Texas Wildcats (1955)
• Jack Lionel (1961)
• Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs (1965)
• Tommy Tate (1966)
• Little Johnny Taylor (1967)
• Gene Summers (1971) (new version)
• Arthur Prysock (1971)
• Mel Street (1972)
• Ernest Tubb (1972)
• Jerry Lee Lewis (1974)
• Willy DeVille (1990)
• Don Walser (1996)
• Percy Sledge (August 31, 2004)
• Van Morrison (March 7, 2006)

Release information

Big Blue Diamonds 45rpm by Jimmy Dean & The Texas Wildcats, Mercury Records 70691, 1955 USA
Big Blue Diamonds 45rpm by Jack Lionel, D Records 1196, 1961 USA
Come On And Join Little Willie John - A Recording Session LP by Little Willie John, King Records 802, 1962 USA
Big Blue Diamonds 45rpm by Little Willie John, King Records 5681, 1962 USA
Big Blue Diamonds 45rpm by Gene Summers & The Tom Toms, Jamie Records 1273, 1964 USA
The Ultimate School Of Rock And Roll CD by Gene Summers, Crystal Clear Sound Records CCR9723-2, 1997 USA
On Tour LP by Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs, MGM Records E/SE-4347, 1965 USA
Big Blue Diamonds 45rpm by Little Johnny Taylor, Galaxy Records 752 USA
Pay the Devil CD by Van Morrison, Lost Highway Records, 2006 USA
Big Blue Diamonds 45rpm single by Gene Summers, Maridene Records M-106-A, 1971 USA (different version)
Big Blue Diamonds 45rpm single by Arthur Prysock, King Records 6354, 1971 USA
Baby It's So Hard to Be Good LP by Ernest Tubb, Decca Records DL-75388, 1972 USA
Southern Roots LP by Jerry Lee Lewis, Mercury Records LP SRM-1-690, 1973 USA
Borrowed Angel LP by Mel Street, Metromedia Records LP5001, 1973 USA
Big Blue Diamond LP by Jacky Ward, Target Records T13 1351, 1972 USA
Texas Top Hand CD by Don Walser, Texas Music Group Records CD- 4503, 1996 USA
High Noon (Box Set) 4XCD by Tex Ritter, Bear Family Records, 2000 Germany
Shining Through the Rain CD by Percy Sledge, Varèse Sarabande Records, 2004 USA
Victory Mixture CD by Willy DeVille, Blue Moon Records, 1990 France

References

King Records Discography
Jamie Records Discography
BMI Repertoire
ARSA Radio Surveys Archive
Indiana45s/Rusty Cole
Hillbilly-Music.com
Blue Diamond
"Texas Music" by Rick Koster
"Texas Music" by Rick Koster (published by St. Martin's Press USA 1996) Page 84 Ref: Gene Summers/Big Blue Diamonds
"Osborne Record Guide - Fifteenth Edition" by Jerry Osborne (published by Crown Publishing USA 2001)
"Rockabilly: A Forty-Year Journey" by Billy Poore (published by Hal Leonard USA 1998)
"The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits" By Joel Whitburn
A Dream Deferred By Matt Weitz, Dallas Observer, July 31-August 6, 1997 Volume 752, pages 73–79

See also

Rockin' Country Style
Rockabilly Hall of Fame