 " Lovesick Blues " was originally entitled " I 've Got the Lovesick Blues " and published by Jack Mills , Inc. in 1922 ; Irving Mills authored the lyrics and Cliff Friend composed the music . It was first performed by Anna Chandler in the Tin Pan Alley musical Oh ! Ernest and first recorded by Elsie Clark on March 21 , 1922 with Okeh Records . Following the recording , Cliff and Friend copyrighted the song on April 3 , 1922 . It was featured in a show at the Boardwalk Club in New York City in June 1922 and also recorded by Jack Shea on Vocalion Records later that summer . 
