“Suffering with the Blues” was made famous by Little Willie John which was released in October 1956. I didn’t know that there was an earlier version by Joe Medlin in February 1956. I encourage you to look at the site Second Hand Songs which has great information about covers.
James Brown recorded an outstanding version on a tribute album Thinking About Little Willie John and a Few Nice Things in 1968 soon after Little Willie John died. I first heard Brown’s version on the excellent two CD anthology Messing with the Blues (1990) which is explores Brown’s covers of songs that inspired him. You can really hear the pain in his voice.
Sad! 