Whitey Ford Sings the Blues by Everlast

Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, Everlast's second solo album, came out on Tommy Boy on September 8, 1998, his first since leaving House of Pain, and it arrived eight long years after Forever Everlasting. Somewhere in between he survived a major heart attack, and the record sounds like a man who'd had time to think. The Whitey Ford in the title is the old New York Yankees pitcher.

Everlast worked up the sound with producers Dante Ross and John Gamble, and it's a genuine hybrid: hip-hop beats and rhymes laced with acoustic and electric guitar, with blues and rock running right through it. "What It's Like" is the showpiece, a weary, strummed ballad that he half sings and half growls, and it became the most successful song he ever put out, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 42nd Grammys. "Ends" carries the same gravelly swagger with more of a bounce.

It was a hit with critics and buyers alike, reaching number 9 on the Billboard 200, going double platinum and selling more than three million copies. Eat at Whitey's came next.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.