"Old Blue" (also known as "Old Dog Blue") is an old folk song, believed to have originated from the minstrel shows of the late 19th century. A 1928 version by Jim Jackson, entitled "Old Dog Blue", appears on the ''

Anthology of American Folk Music ''Anthology of American Folk Music'' is a three-volume compilation album released in August 1952 by Folkways Records. The album was compiled by experimental filmmaker Harry Smith from his own personal collection of 78 rpm records. It consists ...

'' album. Since this early recording, a number of covers and variations of this song have been recorded. In his 1985 play, ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

'',

August Wilson August Wilson (né Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of 10 plays, collectively called '' ...

uses Jim Jackson's version as a leitmotif, and the play's central character (who had a dog named Blue as a boy) says his father originated the song.

Various versions

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

, '' Joan Baez, Vol. 2'' (1961) *

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

, '' Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde'' (1969) *

Furry Lewis Walter E. "Furry" Lewis (March 6, 1893 or 1899 – September 14, 1981) was an American country blues guitarist and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. He was one of the earliest of the blues musicians active in the 1920s to be brought out of ...

, ''Shake 'Em On Down'' (1961) *

Guy Carawan Guy Hughes Carawan Jr. (July 28, 1927 – May 2, 2015) was an American folk musician and musicologist. He served as music director and song leader for the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee. Carawan is be ...

, ''Songs with Guy Carawan'' (1950) *

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliott Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer, songwriter and story teller. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adno ...

, '' I Stand Alone'' (2006) *

David Wiffen David Wiffen (born 11 March 1942) is an English-Canadian folk singer-songwriter. Two of his songs, "Driving Wheel" and "More Often Than Not", have become cover standards. Early life Wiffen was born in Redhill, Surrey, England.

, ''David Wiffen At The Bunkhouse Coffeehouse, Vancouver BC'' (1965) * Johnny Duncan, ''Vintage Rock Nº 23 - EPs Collectors "Johnny Duncan's Tennessee Song Bag"'' (1957) *

Cisco Houston Gilbert Vandine "Cisco" Houston (August 18, 1918 – April 29, 1961) was an American folk singer and songwriter, who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of traveling and recording together. Houston was a reg ...

, ''Songs to Grow On, Vol. 3: This Land Is My Land'' (1951) *

Bill Staines William Russell Staines (February 6, 1947 – December 5, 2021) was an American folk musician and singer-songwriter from New Hampshire who wrote and performed songs with a wide array of subjects. Called "the Woody Guthrie of my generation" by s ...

, ''One More River'' (1998) *

Anne Hills Anne Hills (born October 18, 1953) is an American folk singer-songwriter who lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Biography Hills was born to a family of missionaries in Moradabad, India, and grew up in Michigan in the United States. A member of ...

, ''Never Grow Up'' (1998) *

The Dillards The Dillards are an American bluegrass music, bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. They are notable for being among the first bluegrass groups to have electrified their instruments, and they are considered to be pioneers of cou ...

, ''Live!!!! Almost!!!'' (1964) *

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (November 9, 1935October 2, 2020), nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", was an American baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959 to 1975. Known for his fiercely competi ...

and

Bob Camp Robert Frank Camp (born February 7, 1956) is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. He is best known for founding Spümcø and his work for developing and serving as a showrunner ...

, ''Bob Gibson and Bob Camp at The Gate of Horn'' (1961) *

Sam Hinton Sam Duffie Hinton (March 31, 1917 – September 10, 2009) was an American folk singer, marine biologist, photographer, and aquarist, best known for his music and harmonica playing. Hinton also taught at the University of California, San Diego, pu ...

, ''Whoever Shall Have Some Good Peanuts'' (2006) *

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

, ''American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 3'' (1957) *

Lonnie Pitchford Lonnie Pitchford (October 8, 1955 – November 8, 1998) was an American blues musician and instrument maker from Lexington, Mississippi, United States. He was one of only a handful of young African American musicians from Mississippi who had le ...

, ''The Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute To The Anthology Of American Folk Music'' (1998) * Dave Van Ronk, '' Somebody Else, Not Me'' (1980) *

JJ Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopf ...

, ''Guitar Man'' (1996) *

Georgia Ruth Georgia Ruth Williams (born 5 January 1988) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and harpist. She sings in both English and Welsh. Early life Williams was born in Llantwit Major in South Wales. At the age of four she moved with her family to Aberystwy ...

, ''Week of Pines'' (2013) * Appears on '' Disney Children's Favorite Songs 2'' (1979) by

Larry Groce Larry Groce (born April 22, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and radio host. From 1983 until 2021, Groce served as the host and artistic director of '' Mountain Stage'', a two-hour live music radio program produced by West Virginia Publi ...

as a children's song. *

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) ...

;

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and b ...

in live versions performances of " Take a Pebble" (1971) *

Ian & Sylvia Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson. They began performing together in 1959 (full-time in 1961), married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975. History Early ...

Charlie Parr Charlie Parr (born 1967) is an American country blues musician. Born in Austin, Minnesota, he spent part of his childhood in Hollandale before starting his music career in Duluth. His influences include Charlie Patton, Bukka White, Reverend Gary ...

, ''I Ain't Dead Yet'' (2016) *

Peter, Paul & Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), and Mary Travers (contr ...

, ''In Concert'' (1964), as "Blue" *

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

, '' Balladeer'' (1959) *

Shawn Phillips Shawn Phillips (born February 3, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, primarily influential in the 1960s and 1970s. His work is rooted in folk rock but straddles other genres, including jazz fusion and funk. Phillips has reco ...

, ''Shawn'' (1966) *

Grandpa Jones Louis Marshall Jones (October 20, 1913 – February 19, 1998), known professionally as Grandpa Jones, was an American banjo player and Old-time music, old time/country music, country music singer. He was inducted as a member of the Country Musi ...

, ''Old Blue'' (1953)

References

External links

''Old Blue'' at ''Keefer's Folk Music Index''
American folk songs Songs about dogs {{Folk-song-stub