| "I'd Rather Go Blind" | |
|---|---|
| Single byEtta James | |
| from the albumTell Mama | |
| A-side | "Tell Mama" |
| B-side | "I'd Rather Go Blind" |
| Released | 1967 (1967) |
| Recorded | 1967,FAME Studios,Muscle Shoals, Alabama |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:32 |
| Label | Cadet 5578 |
| Songwriters |
|
| Producer | Rick Hall |
"I'd Rather Go Blind" is ablues song written byEllington Jordan[2] with co-writing credits to Billy Foster andEtta James. It was first recorded by Etta James in 1967, released the same year,[3] and has subsequently become regarded as ablues andsoul classic.
Etta James wrote in her autobiographyRage To Survive that she heard the song outlined by her friend Ellington "Fugi" Jordan when she visited him in prison.[4] She then wrote the rest of the song with Jordan, but for tax reasons gave her songwriting credit to her partner at the time, Billy Foster, singer withdoo-wop groupThe Medallions.[5]
Etta James recorded the song at theFAME Studios inMuscle Shoals, Alabama. It was included on the albumTell Mama and as the B-side of the single of the same name which made number 10 on theBillboard R&B charts,[6] and number 23 on theBillboard Hot 100.[7] The song is also on the 1978Jerry Wexler-produced albumDeep in the Night, but there it is titled "Blind Girl" (track 10).[8] Some critics have regarded "I'd Rather Go Blind" as of such emotional and poetic quality as to make that release one of the great double-sided singles of the period.[9] CriticDave Marsh put the song in his bookThe Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Noting that James had recorded the song during a break from heroin addiction, Marsh writes, "the song provides a great metaphor for her drug addiction and intensifies the story."[10]
Source:[11]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[12] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[13] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
It has since been recorded by a wide variety of artists, including the blind-from-birthClarence Carter, on his 1969 albumThe Dynamic Clarence Carter.[14] Other recordings include those byLittle Milton,Chicken Shack,Koko Taylor,Sydney Youngblood,Man Man,Rod Stewart,[15]B.B. King,Elkie Brooks,Paul Weller,Trixie Whitley,Ruby Turner,[16]Marcia Ball,Barbara Lynn, andBeyoncé for theCadillac Records film soundtrack.[17]
The song reached number 14 on theUK Singles Chart in 1969 in a version by the British blues bandChicken Shack, featuring Christine Perfect, later to becomeChristine McVie ofFleetwood Mac.[16] After she left Chicken Shack, but before she joined Fleetwood Mac, Christine Perfect released her debut solo album,Christine Perfect. Being that she was on the same label as Chicken Shack, the Blue Horizon label included the same Chicken Shack recording of "I'd Rather Go Blind" on Christine Perfect's album since the song had only been released as a single for Chicken Shack and had not been included on any Chicken Shack LPs.
The song was also recorded in 1972 forNever a Dull Moment, the fourth album byRod Stewart.[15] Etta James refers to Stewart's version favorably in her autobiography,Rage to Survive.
Versions have been performed byPaolo Nutini,[18] Australian musician Toby,[19] and American folk singerHolly Miranda.
In 2011,Joe Bonamassa andBeth Hart included the song on their albumDon't Explain.[20] At the 2012Kennedy Center Honors concert honoringBuddy Guy, Beth Hart received a standing ovation for a rendition of the song accompanied byJeff Beck on guitar.
In 2012,Mick Hucknall recorded the song for his albumAmerican Soul.[21]
The near note-for-note rendition of the song's melody can be heard inChris Stapleton's 2015 track "Tennessee Whiskey".[22]
In 2018,Grace Potter recorded the song at FAME Studios for the tribute albumMuscle Shoals...Small Town, Big Sound.[23]
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