"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is a blues standard

Blues standard

A blues standard is a blues song that is widely known, performed, and recorded by blues artists. The following list identifies blues standards and some of the blues artists that have recorded them...

, written by Jimmy Cox

Jimmy Cox

Jimmy Cox was an American songwriter famous for his Depression-era hit "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"....

 in 1923

1923 in music

-Events:*November 11 - Premiere of John Foulds's World Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It is repeated on that date each year until 1926....

. Its lyric, told from the point of view of a one-time millionaire

Millionaire

A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...

 during the Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 era, reflects on the fleeting nature of material wealth and the friendships that come and go with it.

Recording history

The song was first recorded and popularized by Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...

, the preeminent female blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 singer of the 1920s and '30s. Since then, numerous cover versions have been recorded. The following is a list of some of the more notable renditions:
1968 Duane and Gregg Allman
Blues
->

Year	Performer	Style
1927	Julia Lee Julia Lee (musician) Julia Lee was an American blues and dirty blues musician.-Biography:Born in Boonville, Missouri, United States, Lee was raised in Kansas City, and began her musical career around 1920, singing and playing piano in her brother George Lee's band, which for a time also included Charlie Parker...	blues
1927 or 1928	Bobby Leecan & Robert Cooksey	blues
1928	Pinetop Smith Pinetop Smith Clarence Smith, better known as Pinetop Smith or Pine Top Smith was an American boogie-woogie style blues pianist...	talking blues Talking blues Talking blues is a form of country music. It is characterized by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the melody is free, but the rhythm is strict....
1929	Bessie Smith Bessie Smith Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...	blues
1936	Count Basie Orchestra Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella...	jazz
1938	Louis Jordan Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...  And His Tympany Five Tympany Five Tympany Five was a successful rhythm and blues and jazz dance band founded by Louis Jordan in 1938. The group was composed of a horn section of three to five different pieces and also drums, double bass, guitar and piano. After playing in Chicago at the Capitol Lounge in 1941, Jordan and his band...	jazz
1939	Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.He was one of the first important soloists in jazz , and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist...	jazz
1942	Eddie Condon Eddie Condon Albert Edwin Condon , better known as Eddie Condon, was a jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in the so-called "Chicago school" of early Dixieland, he also played piano and sang on occasion....	jazz
1945	Josh White Josh White Joshua Daniel White , better known as Josh White, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names "Pinewood Tom" and "Tippy Barton" in the 1930s....	blues
1946	Mutt Carey Mutt Carey Thomas "Papa Mutt" Carey was a New Orleans jazz trumpeter.Carey was born in Hahnville, Louisiana, and moved to New Orleans with his family in his youth. His older brother Jack Carey was a trombone player and bandleader; Mutt was playing cornet in his brother's band by about 1912. Carey toured the...  & Hociel Thomas	jazz
1946	Lee Collins Lee Collins (musician) Leeds "Lee" Collins was an American jazz trumpeter.Born in New Orleans, Collins played in brass bands as a teenager, including The Young Eagles, The Columbia Band, and the Tuxedo Brass Band. In the 1910s he played in New Orleans alongside Louis Armstrong, Papa Celestin, and Zutty Singleton...  & Chippie Hill	jazz
1948	Leadbelly Leadbelly Huddie William Ledbetter was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....	blues
1958	Juanita Hall Juanita Hall Juanita Hall was an American musical theatre and film actress. She is remembered for her roles in the original stage and screen versions of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals South Pacific as Bloody Mary and Flower Drum Song as Auntie Liang.-Biography:Born in Keyport, New Jersey, Hall received...	blues
1958	LaVern Baker LaVern Baker LaVern Baker was an American rhythm and blues singer, who had several hit records on the pop chart in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her most successful records were "Tweedlee Dee" , "Jim Dandy" , and "I Cried a Tear" .-Early life:She was born Delores LaVern Baker in Chicago, Illinois...	jazz
1959	Nina Simone Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...	jazz
1959	Bill Smith Bill Smith (jazz musician) William Overton Smith , known as Bill Smith, is a U.S. jazz clarinetist, and composer. He has played with Dave Brubeck, among others.-Life:...	jazz clarinet
1959	Scrapper Blackwell Scrapper Blackwell Francis Hillman "Scrapper" Blackwell was an American blues guitarist and singer; best known as half of the guitar-piano duo he formed with Leroy Carr in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was an acoustic single-note picker in the Chicago blues and Piedmont blues style, with some critics noting...	blues
1961	Rolf Cahn Rolf Cahn Rolf Cahn was a folk musician, martial arts teacher, author, and social activist. Born in Germany, he and his family, who were Jewish, fled from Adolf Hitler's oppression and arrived in the United States in 1937. They settled in Detroit, Michigan...  & Eric Von Schmidt Eric Von Schmidt Eric "Rick" Von Schmidt was an American singer-songwriter and Grammy Award recipient. He was associated with the folk/blues revival of the 1960s and a key part of the East Coast folk music scene that included Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.-Background and associations with Dylan:Von Schmidt's father,...	blues
1962	Dave Guard Dave Guard Donald David "Dave" Guard was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio.Guard was educated in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Punahou School in what was then the pre-statehood U.S....  And The Whiskeyhill Singers Whiskeyhill Singers The Whiskeyhill Singers were formed in early 1961 by Dave Guard after he left The Kingston Trio. Guard formed the Singers as an attempt to return to the Trio's earlier roots in folk music. The Singers lasted about six months before disbanding...	folk
1962	Odetta Odetta Odetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals...	jazz
1962	Jimmy Witherspoon Jimmy Witherspoon Jimmy Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.-Early life and career:James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during...	jazz
1963	Colette Magny	blues
1963	Chad Mitchell Trio Chad Mitchell Trio The Chad Mitchell Trio were a North American vocal group who became known during the 1960s. They performed folk songs, some of which were traditionally passed down and some of their own compositions. Unlike many fellow folk music groups, none of the trio played instruments...	folk
1964	Alice Stuart Alice Stuart Alice Stuart is an American blues and folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. She toured the UK with Van Morrison and throughout the United States with Mississippi John Hurt....	folk
1964	Janis Joplin Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...  & Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen Jr. is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist, best known for his work with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna.-Biography:...	blues
1964	Sam Cooke Sam Cooke Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...	soul
1965	Liza Minnelli Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....	pop
1966	Otis Redding Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...	soul
1966	The Spencer Davis Group	rock
1969	José Feliciano José Feliciano José Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer, virtuoso guitarist and composer known for many international hits including the 1970 holiday single "Feliz Navidad".-Childhood:...	Latin
1969	The Blues Magoos	rock
1970	Derek and the Dominos Derek and the Dominos Derek and the Dominos were a blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, who had all played with Clapton in Delaney, Bonnie & Friends...	blues
1970	Trader Horne Trader Horne Berlyn Dale Horne was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Chicago Cubs during the season. Listed at 5' 9", 155 lb., Horne was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed...	folk
1972	The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...	rock
1973	Tim Hardin Tim Hardin James Timothy "Tim" Hardin was an American folk musician and composer. He wrote the Top 40 hits "If I Were a Carpenter", covered by, among others, Joan Baez, Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and Robert Plant, and "Reason to Believe", covered by many, including Rod Stewart, as well...	folk
1973	George Melly George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer and lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.-Early life and career:He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe...	jazz
1974	John Lennon John Lennon John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...	rock
1975	Rory Block Rory Block -Festival appearances:*Long Beach Blues Festival - 1993*San Francisco Blues Festival - 1999*Notodden Blues Festival - 2006-See also:*List of blues musicians*List of contemporary blues musicians*List of Austin City Limits performers-External links:****...	blues
1976	Carrie Smith Carrie Smith Carrie Smith is an American blues and jazz singer.Smith was a member of a church choir that performed at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival...	blues
1976	Vic Dickenson Vic Dickenson Vic Dickenson was an African-American jazz trombonist. Dickenson's career started out in the 1920s and led him through musical partnerships with such legends as Count Basie , Sidney Bechet and Earl Hines...	jazz trombone
1978	Alberta Hunter Alberta Hunter Alberta Hunter was an American blues singer, songwriter, and nurse. Her career had started back in the early 1920s, and from there on, she became a successful jazz and blues recording artist, being critically acclaimed to the ranks of Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith...	blues
1970s	Martin, Bogan & The Armstrongs	folk
1980	Archie Shepp Archie Shepp Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...  & Horace Parlan Horace Parlan Horace Parlan is an American hard bop and post-bop piano player.He is noted for his contributions to the classic Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots....	jazz instrumental
1985	Dick Hyman Dick Hyman Richard “Dick” Hyman is an American jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer, best-known for his versatility with jazz piano styles. Over a 50 year career, he has functioned as pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and, increasingly, as composer...	jazz piano
1985	Chris Barber Chris Barber Donald Christopher 'Chris' Barber is best known as a jazz trombonist. As well as scoring a UK top twenty trad jazz hit he helped the careers of many musicians, notably the blues singer Ottilie Patterson, who was at one time his wife, and vocalist/banjoist Lonnie Donegan, whose appearances with...	jazz
1985	Newport Jazz Festival Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard, who, together with husband Louis Lorillard, financed the festival for many years. The couple hired jazz impresario George Wein to organize the...  All-Stars	jazz
1988	Rod Stewart Rod Stewart Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....	pop
1988	Danny Barker Danny Barker Danny Barker , born Daniel Moses Barker, was a jazz banjoist, singer, guitarist, songwriter, ukelele player and author from New Orleans, founder of the locally famous Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band...	jazz
1989	Ruth Brown Ruth Brown Ruth Brown was an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, composer and actress, noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and " He Treats Your Daughter Mean".For these...	blues
1992	Eric Clapton Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...	blues
1993	Billy Joel Billy Joel William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...	rock
1997	Don McLean Don McLean Donald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...	rock
1997	Popa Chubby Popa Chubby Ted Horowitz , who plays under the stage name of Popa Chubby , is an American electric blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist.-Life and career:Born the son of a candy store owner, at age thirteen Horowitz began playing drums; shortly thereafter, he...	blues
1997	Andrés Calamaro Andrés Calamaro Andrés Calamaro , is an Argentine musician, composer and Latin Grammy winner. His former band Los Rodríguez was a major success in Spain in the 1990s. He became one of the main icons of the Argentine rock in the last two decades and has sold over 1.3 million copies.-Abuelos de la Nada:Calamaro was...	Latin
1999	B.B. King	blues
2001	Dave Van Ronk Dave Van Ronk Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....	folk
2005	David Krull	Blues
unknown (released 1992)	Bobby Womack Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...	R&B
unknown (released 1993)	Big Joe Williams Big Joe Williams Joseph Lee Williams , billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar...	blues
unknown	Joe Dassin Joe Dassin Joseph Ira Dassin , more commonly known as Joe Dassin, was an American singer-songwriter best known for his French songs of the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...	blues
unknown	Carla Bruni Carla Bruni Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is an Italian-French songwriter, singer, actress, and former model...	folk

Other appearances

In the 1980s, the song was used in the Tony

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

-nominated Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 musical

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 Blues in the Night

Blues in the Night (musical)

Blues in the Night is a musical revue conceived by Sheldon Epps. It was produced by Mitchell Maxwell, Alan J. Schuster, Fred H. Krones and M Squared Entertainment, Inc., and Joshua Silver ....

.

This song is featured during the load screen for the Pauper's Drop level in the game Bioshock 2

BioShock 2

BioShock 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Marin for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The sequel to the 2007 video game BioShock, it was released worldwide on February 9, 2010....

, released 9 Feb 10.