I'd Rather Be Blue Explained

I'd Rather Be Blue
Type:	single
Artist:	Fanny Brice
A-Side:	"I'd Rather Be Blue"
B-Side:	"If You Want the Rainbow (You Must Have the Rain)"
Label:	Victor Talking Machine Company
Composer:	Fred Fisher
Lyricist:	Billy Rose

"I'd Rather Be Blue" (or "I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)") is a song from the 1928 Warner Bros. musical film My Man, in which it was sung by Fanny Brice.^[1]

Composition

The song was written by Fred Fisher and Billy Rose.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Track listing

10" 78 rpm shellac record – Victor 21815, United States

A. "I'd Rather Be Blue"

B. "If You Want the Rainbow (You Must Have the Rain)"^[5]

Fanny Brice version (1928)

Fanny Brice performed the song ("Comedienne with Orchestra") on a Victor sound recording (21815-A), which can be heard on "I'd Rather Be Blue" (Victor recording on the Internet Archive).

Barbra Streisand version

I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)
Type:	single
Artist:	Barbra Streisand
Album:	Funny Girl (The Original Sound Track Recording)
A-Side:	"Funny Girl"
B-Side:	"I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)"
Released:	1968
Length:	2:28
Label:	Columbia Records
Composer:	Fred Fisher
Lyricist:	Billy Rose
Prev Title:	Our Corner of the Night
Prev Year:	1968
"Funny Girl" / "I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)"
Next Title:	Honey Pie
Next Year:	1969

The song was performed by Barbra Streisand in the 1968 film Funny Girl. Her version reached number 19 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.^[6]

Track listing

7" 45 rpm vinyl single – Columbia 4-44622, 1968, United States

1. "Funny Girl"
2. "I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)"^[7]

Charts

Notes and References

1. Web site: Fanny Brice - I'd Rather Be Blue / If You Want The Rainbow (You Must Have The Rain) (Shellac) at Discogs. February 1929 . Discogs. 2018-03-22.
2. Book: Herbert G. Goldman. Fanny Brice: The Original Funny Girl. registration. I'd Rather Be Blue.. October 1993. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-508552-5. 289–.
3. Book: Colin Bratkovich. Just Remember This. 8 May 2014. 978-1-4836-4519-3. 249–. Xlibris Corporation .
4. Book: Edwin M. Bradley. The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 through 1932. 1 January 2004. McFarland. 978-0-7864-2029-2. 16–.
5. Book: Stanley Green. Hollywood Musicals Year by Year. 1999. Hal Leonard Corporation. 978-0-634-00765-1. 244–.
6. I'd Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Happy With Somebody Else) Chart History (Adult Contemporary). Billboard. 2020-03-07.
7. Web site: Barbra Streisand - Funny Girl / I'd Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Happy With Somebody Else) at Discogs. Discogs. 1968 . 2018-03-22.