From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Fri Nov 15, 2002  6:16 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Little Willie John
 
LITTLE WILLIE JOHN (By Jean-Marc Pezet)

Born William Edgar John, 15 November 1937, Cullendale, Arkansas
Died 26 May 1968, Walla Walla, Washington

Although born in Arkansas, Willie was raised in Detroit where his family had
moved. He performed in church alongside his siblings in a gospel quartet,
The United Four. By 1951, he was making the rounds of the amateur shows
on his own . At this time, Johnny Otis tried unsuccessfully to get him a
contract with King. At 16, Willie cut a Christmas record, "Mommy What
Happened To Our Christmas Tree", for the obscure Prize label but that
went nowhere.
Willie then joined Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams as the featured vocalist in
his orchestra. They toured for about one year and Willie cut "Betty Ann
(Ring-A-Ling)" with the orchestra for Rama in 1955, though the record had
Paul Williams' name on it.
A wild and tough kid, Willie got kicked off by Williams while in New York
and, after a brief period looking for jobs, he finally auditioned and signed
with King Records. Henry Glover immediately rushed him into the studio
(on June 27, 1955) and he cut "All Around The World", a song penned by
Titus Turner, whose version * (recorded earlier in May) was out on Wing.
Willie's debut on King rocketed to the Top Five on the R&B chart that summer
and he was back in the studio in September to record a follow-up. His next
single "Home At Last" / "Need Your Love So Bad" was a double sided hit,
peaking at # 6 and # 5 respectively!
His third single failed but Willie was back in the studio, this time in
Cincinnati, on April 1st, 1956 to cut what would become his eternal calling
card, the monstruous "Fever" (penned by Otis Blackwell and Eddie Cooley).
The song made the top of the R&B chart in the summer of 1956, and # 24 on
the pop chart. It was later covered successfully by Peggy Lee, upon whose
version Elvis based his 1960 recording, but Willie's rendering will remain
definitive. The B-side "Letter From My Darling" also went Top 10 R&B.

A string of good selling singles, if not as successful, followed, "Do Some-
thing For Me" # 15 R&B, "My Nerves", "Suffering The Blues", "Person
To Person", but it was not until 1958 that Willie was about to mount his
biggest pop crossover hit campaign with the smash hit "Talk To Me Talk To
Me", # 5 R&B / # 20 pop, followed by "Sleep" Top 10 R&B / # 13 pop and
"Take My Love" # 5 R&B in 1961.
Unfortunately it was to be Willie's last hit and by the end of 1963, King let
him go from his contract. Willie was not prepared for this eventual fall from
grace and his behaviour began to seriously deteriorate. In October 1964, he
killed a man with a knife and was charged with murder. He was sentenced
to 8-to-20 years in the penitentiary of Walla Walla and entered the prison
in July 1966.
Despite the fact that his friend James Brown tried to get him out, he died
from pneumonia while incarcerated in May 1968.
Little Willie John was one of the very first architects of Soul music with
Ray Charles, Clyde McPhatter, Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke.

Further reading:
The Little Willie John Story was told in great details by Pete Nickols in
Now Dig This # 208, 209 and 210.

Recommended listening:
"The Early King Sessions" Ace CDCHD 846 (2002)
"Fever - The Best Of" Rhino R2 71511 (1993)

* Titus Turner's version of "All Around The World" is currently available on
the "Mercury Blues 'n' Rhythm Story 1945-1955" 8 CD box set.