The Story of the Blues

The Story of the Blues is a studio album by American singer Della Reese. It was released by Jubilee Records in 1959 and was the third studio album in her career. The album contained 11 tracks that told the story of blues music in chronological order and featured mostly blues standards. It was given a positive response by authors and music publications.

Background, recording and content

Although eventually transitioning into acting, Della Reese began her career as a singer. She signed with Jubilee Records in 1954 and recorded a variety of material in the genres of jazz, pop and blues. The latter would be the musical style of Reese's third studio project. The Story of the Blues was based on stories told by the arranger Sy Oliver, who worked with blues performer Bessie Smith. Along with Reese's input, Oliver envisioned the album to chronologically tell the story of the genre through blues songs and spoken word narration. The album also featured production by Morty Palitz. The Story of the Blues comprised 11 tracks. The project featured mostly covers of blues standards such as "Squeeze Me" and "Stormy Weather". Only two original recordings were part of the project: the title track and "There's Always the Blues".

Release and critical reception

The Story of the Blues was released in 1959 by Jubilee Records and was the third studio album in Reese's career. It was distributed as a vinyl LP offered in both mono and stereo formats. Six songs were included on "side 1" while five songs were included on "side 2". Author Will Friedwald found the album to be "the most ambitious of Reese's early projects" and theorized that its use of spoken word foreshadowed her career as an actress. American Record Guide found it to be "one of the greatest albums ever produced.... telescoping 100 years of musical history into minutes, milestoning from the start of the blues to now." The album received three out of five stars from AllMusic but did not have a written review.