Listening To Little Willie John.

‘Take a picture of this. The fields are empty, abandoned '59 Chevy. Laying in the back seat listening to Little Willie John. Yeah, that's when time stood still’. 

I first heard those words on a 1987 song by Robbie Robertson called Somewhere Down That Crazy River. I had never heard of Little Willie John before, probably because he didn’t have hit records or air-play in the UK, and also I was so young at the time. However, that song was so atmospheric, intriguing, and mysterious I had to find out about him, but it was only when I started listening to Youtube about 18 years that I heard a song called Talk To Me, Talk To Me which I really enjoyed. Wikipedia also provided me with all the info I needed about Little Willie John.

He was born in 1937 and lived in Detroit from the age of four and had his first hit record in 1955 at the age of eighteen with All Around the World which was later covered by other singers as Grits Ain’t Groceries. This was followed up the same year with Need Your Love So Bad, a song I got to know when Fleetwood Mac had a UK hit with it in 1968. Fever was another huge hit in the USA, but again I only knew the song from the equally successful version by Peggy Lee. Even The Beatles covered a Little Willie John song when they recorded Leave My Kitten Alone in 1964, although their version wasn’t released until 1995. Little Willie John had fifteen US top 100 hits in total. Sadly, he had a very short career. Known for his short temper and alcohol abuse he was arrested multiple times for charges that include narcotics, swindling, and grand larceny and was dropped by his record label. 

In 1965, he was convicted of manslaughter for the 1964 stabbing of Kendall Roundtree in Seattle and was sent to Washington State Penitentiary. John appealed the conviction and was released on probation while the case was reconsidered. During which time he recorded what was intended to be his comeback album, but due to contractual disputes it was not released until 2008. He died at Washington State Penitentiary on May 26, 1968. The cause of death stated on his death certificate was a heart attack. He was only 30 years of age.

I finally got around to ordering a Little Willie John album about a week ago. This morning I was doing some gardening when it started raining, so I had to abandon that idea. I had just come into the kitchen when there was a knock on the front door. It was the post lady who handed me a package which contained a CD called Little Willie John, All 15 of his Chart Hits, 1953- 1962. After that I didn’t care about the gardening. I sat in the kitchen and enjoyed listening to one of the greatest R&B singers. I enjoyed every track, although Talk To Me, Talk To Me is still my favourite. Like another great singer Sam Cooke, it just seems to be a shame that his great talent didn’t reach its full potential. We will never know what he might have achieved, but we are left with some great music, so I’m grateful that Robbie Robertson mentioned him in that song and led to me discovering the great Little Willie John.