Editorial Reviews Amazon.com

" Standing slightly more than five feet tall, Little Willie John scored his first hit at age 17. That 1955 R&B smash--"All Around the World" (also known as "Grits Ain't Groceries")--reflected his status as a seasoned veteran of several leading jazz/R&B big bands. John went on to record such noble rockers as "I'm Shakin'" (covered by the Blasters) and "Leave My Kitten Alone" (covered by the Beatles). However, his greatest success came when he set his torchy, gospel-drenched tenor to slow blues ("Need Your Love So Bad"), standards ("Sleep"), heartbreak ballads ("Talk to Me" and "Let Them All Talk"), and his flame-broiled original version of the oft-covered (Peggy Lee, Madonna, the Cramps, among others) incendiary title track. John was only 30 when he died--reportedly of either pneumonia or a heart attack--while imprisoned for manslaughter in 1968. That same year, James Brown recorded an album called Thinking of Little Willie John and a Few Nice Things "--Don Waller


May 27, 2002 Reviewer: Richard G. Jerskey from Dhahran Saudi Arabia

" This guy's got a voice that most likely still got him up into heaven. I don't think an angel could compete with the vocal magnificence of the R&B/Blues singer here that has been so, so neglected compared to many that are inferior. This CD has the gems of Willie John and if these fail to move your soul into an upright position, you must already be dead. Check out: Fever, I Need Your Love so Bad, Talk To Me, ... amoung the others. Whew! Words fail me. Just listen!Ê"

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August 25, 2000 Reviewer: George O'Leary from Nepean, Ontario Canada

" First of all John, born in Cullendale, Arkansas on November 15, 1937 and raised in Detroit, he was just 16 in 1953, and although touring with Paul Williams & His Orchestra and cutting some discs for Savoy, Rama, and Prize, had no hits of any description until 1955. Secondly, from 1955 to 1961 he actually had eighteen charters. After signing with King in 1955, that fall he scored with the # 5 R&B hit, All Around The World. Not bad for an 18-year-old, and when he did it again early in 1956 with the double-side hit Need Your Love So Bad (# 5 R&B) b/w Home At Last (# 6 R&B), King knew they had something special (the B-side is missing from the other CD mentioned). His biggest hit ever, Fever, followed in a few months, going to # 1 R&B (where it stayed for five weeks) and # 24 pop in August. The thing is, the flip-side, Letter From My Darling, also went to # 10 R&B and is not included in either this compilation OR the other one. Nor is the next one in 1956, Do Something For Me, which hit # 15 R&B, and yet the flipside, My Nerves, which did not chart, is included in this set. There were no charters in 1957, but in May 1958 he was back with Talk To Me, Talk To Me which, b/w Spasms, a # 5 R&B and # 20 pop. Later that summer You're A Sweetheart topped out at # 14 R&B and # 66 pop in August, and while it's on the other CD, it is omitted from this one. But the uncharted flip, Let's Rock While The Rockin's Good IS here. Go figure. Another release in the same period, Tell It Like It Is b/w Don't Be Ashamed To Call My Name went to # 12 R&B - but neither is included on either CD. Both his following hits are here and on the other CD, however, with Leave My Kitten Alone scoring at # 13 R&B and # 60 pop in August 1959, and Let Them Talk reaching # 11 R&B and # 100 pop in February 1960. Neither flip-side, Let Nobody Love You (# 106 pop) and Right There are included. Later in 1960 Heartbreak (It's Hurtin' Me) also gained # 11 R&B and while it's on both CDs, the flip, Right There, is on neither. Then came the old standard Sleep (again on both sets) which reached # 10 R&B and proved to be his best pop hit, going to # 13 in November. The B-side, There's A Difference, is missing, as is his next hit, Walk Slow b/w You Hurt Me, which went to # 21 R&B and # 48 pop in January 1961 (the A-side IS on the other CD). The old Duke Ellington hit, Flamingo, then followed for John in 1961, going to # 17 R&B - but it's missing from both compilations, although the B-side, (I've Got) Spring Fever, a # 25 R&B and 71 pop in June, is at least on the other compilation. His last hit, Take My Love (I Want To Give It All To You), is on both sets, and it went to # 5 R&B in the fall of 1961, but the flip-side, Now You Know, is missing from both even though it scored at # 93 pop that August. Inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 1996, John wasn't around to appreciate the honour, having died in Washington State Prison from a heart attack on May 26, 1968. His sister Mabel John had a single hit with Your Good Thing (Is About To End) in 1966 (# 6 R&B/# 95 pop), and was also a member of Ray Charles' Raeletts. It seems that, if you really want ALL the best of Little Willie John you will have to purchase both CDs, and then search around for Letter From My Darling, Do Something For Me, Tell it Like It Is, and Flamingo. Good hunting. Was this review helpful to you?ÊÊ Was this review helpful to you?ÊÊ Ê 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: Soul music before soul existed as a category, April 2, 2000 Reviewer: k-sauce (see more about me) from Sacramento, CA This is truly astonishing collection of songs from a singer who sang soul music before "soul" existed as a label for r&b music in the 60's. An amazingly influential singer who was cited as an inspiration by Marvin Gaye and James Brown who recorded a tribute album after his death in the late 60's. You may have heard "Fever" from the Peggy Lee cover, but that version, of course, can't hold a candle in comparison to Little Willie John's original. Another stand out track is "Need Your Love so Bad" with its gut-wrenchingly aching vocals. A notoriously difficult and mercurial personality who died in prison, Little Willie John deserves wider recognition for his genius. "Ê

 

 

 

 

 

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