The Blacksmith Blues
"The Blacksmith Blues" is a song which was written for Ella Mae Morse by Jack Holmes. The recording reached #3 on the Billboard chart when it was released in 1952, and sold over a million copies. Recordings were later made by Bing Crosby, the John Barry Seven, and others. Harry James released a recording on Columbia 39671 with Toni Harper on vocals.
Original recording
Morse recorded the song on December 12, 1951, in the Capitol Records studio on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, [Los Angeles|Hollywood]. The arrangement was created by Billy May and Nelson Riddle, and the recording was produced by Lee Gillette. Bob Bain played a muffled ashtray with a triangle beater to create the hammer and anvil sound effect. The recording was originally issued as the B-side of "Love Me or [Leave Me (Donaldson and Kahn song)|Love Me or Leave Me]".Origins of the song
The tune had first been copyrighted by Holmes in 1950, when it was recorded, with completely different lyrics, as "Happy Pay-Off Day". Its first recording was by Mickey Katz, and it was also recorded by Little Willie Littlefield, and Sonny Burke. However, none of the recordings were hits. Over a year later, music publisher Del Evans remembered the tune, had Holmes write a new set of lyrics, and had it recorded by Ella Mae Morse.Copyright claims
A legal dispute arose in 1952 when Ken Watkins of Lynda Music, who originally held the copyright to "Happy Pay-Off Day", sued music publishers Hill & Range, to whom he had sold the rights. The dispute was over whether Hill & Range needed to pay royalties to Lynda Music for the rewritten song. The case eventually collapsed after Watkins failed to attend the court.In a separate dispute in 1959, Mrs Mildred Schultz sued for breach of copyright, claiming that the music was a copy of her 1941 composition "Good Old Army", which she had rewritten in 1949 as "Waitin' For My Baby" but never published or recorded. The suit was unsuccessful.