[3][4][a] It was first performed in the taverns of St. Louis by the Sparks brothers and was recorded July 28, 1935 by Pinetop with Henry Townsend on guitar.

[5] Four different versions of "Every Day I Have the Blues" have reached the Top Ten of the Billboard R&B chart and two—one by the Count Basie Orchestra with Joe Williams and one by B.B.

Although he used the Sparks brothers' opening verse, he rewrote the remainder of the lyrics, and sang the melody in a normal vocal range: Nobody loves me, nobody seems to care (2×) Speaking of bad luck people, you know I've had my share "Nobody Love Me" was released as the B-side to Memphis Slim's "Angel Child" single.

[6] However, when Lowell Fulson with Lloyd Glenn adapted Memphis Slim's arrangement, but used Sparks' earlier title, it became a hit and spent twenty-three weeks in the R&B chart, reaching number three in 1950.

[9] In 1955 in New York, he recorded a second and perhaps the most famous version of the song with the Count Basie Orchestra, titled "Every Day".

Because of their success, Memphis Slim's composer royalties from the later hits by other artists "were sufficient to buy a Rolls Royce with which to squire himself around Paris," according to writer Colin Escott.

I liked it so well, I made it my theme ... Maxwell Davis didn't write majestically he wrote naturally, which was my bag.

In 1959, King re-recorded the song as a guest vocalist with members of Basie's orchestra[14] with Davis conducting.

Its late entry into the Blues Hall of Fame reflects the fact that no strong consensus emerged as to which of the hundreds of recorded versions was most deserving.