| A Good Day for the Blues | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Ruth Brown |
| Border: | yes |
| Released: | 1999 |
| Studio: | Ultrasonic |
| Genre: | Blues, R&B |
| Label: | Bullseye Blues |
| Producer: | Scott Billington |
| Prev Title: | R + B = Ruth Brown |
| Prev Year: | 1997 |
A Good Day for the Blues is an album by the American musician Ruth Brown, released in 1999 via Bullseye Blues.[1] [2] After recovering from health ailments, Brown supported the album with several concert dates.[3] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Traditional Blues Album".[4] A Good Day for the Blues was Brown's final studio album.[5]
Produced by Scott Billington, the album was recorded at Ultransonic Studios, in New Orleans.[6] [7] [8] "I Believe I Can Fly" is a cover of the R. Kelly song. Brown learned to perform "Cabbage Head" during her childhood.[9] Dan Penn wrote "Be Good to Me Tonight" and "Can't Stand a Broke Man". "True" is a cover of the Paul Gayten song.[10] Duke Robillard played guitar on A Good Day for the Blues.[11] Wardell Quezergue worked on some of the song arrangements.[12] A couple of the songs contain spoken word passages by Brown.
The Sunday Age wrote that "Good Day represents the best, horn-driven, vintage R&B put out today." The Atlanta Constitution noted that, "with Brown's experience, she's able to seamlessly explore the tricky territory between blues and jazz with ease." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette deemed the album "a tribute to her vocal skills—if anything, better with age, a voice full of whiskey and wry." The Chicago Tribune determined that it leans "more on sassy, rambling story-songs like 'H.B.'s Funky Fable' than her classic belting style."[13]