"Mr. Blue" is a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

written by

DeWayne Blackwell Dewayne L. Blackwell (September 17, 1936 – May 23, 2021) was an American songwriter active since the 1950s. His songs include "Mr. Blue", a 1959 hit for the Fleetwoods; " I'm Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home", a 1982 hit for David Frizzell; ...

that was a hit for

the Fleetwoods The Fleetwoods were an American vocal group from Olympia, Washington, whose members were Gary Troxel (born November 28, 1939), Gretchen Christopher (born February 29, 1940), and Barbara Ellis (born February 20, 1940). Early history The band ...

, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1959, giving the group its second chart-topping hit of the year.

Roy Lanham Roy Howard Lanham (January 16, 1923 – February 14, 1991) was an American guitarist. Best known for his work with the Western-style vocal band Sons of the Pioneers between 1961 and 1986, he had a long career that spanned from the prewar years to ...

played guitar on the track, and

Si Zentner Simon Hugh Zentner (June 13, 1917 in New York City, United States – January 31, 2000 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American jazz trombonist and big-band leader. Zentner played in the bands of Les Brown, Harry James, and Jimmy Dorsey in the ...

played the trombone.

Chart positions

All-time charts

Other versions

*The song was covered in 1959 by

David MacBeth David MacBeth (born 1935) is an English pop music singer. Despite releasing a string of singles on three record labels between 1959 and 1969, MacBeth's only chart success was with his version of " Mr. Blue", which peaked at number 18 in the UK S ...

, whose

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer and songwriter considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio a ...

produced version reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart, spending one week in the Top 20. *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

demoed the song with

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

in a recording that is featured on The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete. He also performed the song live 26 times in 2024.

Pop culture

The song is briefly featured in

National Lampoon's Vacation ''National Lampoon's Vacation'', sometimes referred to as simply ''Vacation'', is a 1983 American black comedy road film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, John Candy, and Chris ...

as well as in the television series ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

''. It is also featured in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

film '' Captain America: Brave New World'' (2025), in which it is used by Dr. Samuel Sterns (

Tim Blake Nelson Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor, writer, and director. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in ''Minority Report (film), Minori ...

) to activate a form of

mind control Mind control may refer to: Psychology and neurology * Brainwashing, the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques * Brain–computer interface * Hypnosis * Neuroprosthetics, the technology of cont ...

on various characters, including

Isaiah Bradley Isaiah Bradley is one of the superheroes to hold the title of Captain America, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is an early product of the United States' Super Soldier program (codenamed Project: Rebir ...

. Sterns previously used the name "Mr. Blue" as an alias when communicating with

Bruce Banner The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

in ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

'' (2008).

References

1959 singles The Fleetwoods songs Garth Brooks songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Dewayne Blackwell 1959 songs 1950s ballads Pop ballads {{1950s-pop-song-stub

Chart positions

All-time charts

Other versions

Pop culture

See also

References