ABC Of The Blues CD25 (2010)

CD 25 - Little Willie John & Smiley Lewis

25-01 Little Willie John – Fever
25-02 Little Willie John – All Around the World
25-03 Little Willie John – Suffering with the Blues
25-04 Little Willie John – Tell It Like It Is
25-05 Little Willie John – Person to Person
25-06 Little Willie John – Need Your Love So Bad			play
25-07 Little Willie John – Talk to Me, Talk to Me
25-08 Little Willie John – Home at Last
25-09 Little Willie John – My Nerves
25-10 Little Willie John – Leave My Kitten Alone
25-11 Smiley Lewis – How Long
25-12 Smiley Lewis – Goin’ to Jump and Shout
25-13 Smiley Lewis – Ain’t Goin’ There No More				play
25-14 Smiley Lewis – Last Night
25-15 Smiley Lewis – Tee-Nah-Nah
25-16 Smiley Lewis – Lonesome Highway
25-17 Smiley Lewis – Lying Woman
25-18 Smiley Lewis – No Letter Today
25-19 Smiley Lewis – Mama Don’t Like
25-20 Smiley Lewis – I Want to Be with Her

Little Willie John (November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968) was an American R&B singer of the 1950s and early 1960s, best known for his hits “All Around the World” (1955) and the much-covered “Fever” (1956).

He was born William Edward John in Cullendale, Arkansas, but by 1953 was in the Detroit area, where he was found by Johnny Otis playing R&B clubs. This led to a recording contract with King Records and a string of R&B hits beginning with “All Around the World” (1955, Titus Turner), and including “I’m Shakin’” by Rudy Toombs,[1] “Suffering with the Blues”, “Need Your Love So Bad”, “Sleep” (1961), and “Let Them Talk”. His biggest hit “Fever” (1956) was even more famously covered by Peggy Lee in 1958. Another song, “Talk to Me,” recorded in 1958, reached #5 in the R&B chart and #20 in the pop chart. A few years later it was a hit once again by Sunny and the Sunglows. A cover version of “I Need Your Love So Bad” by the original Fleetwood Mac group was also a big hit in Europe.

John was known for his erratic behavior due to alcoholism, as well his insecurity regarding his 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) height. Little Willie John died in 1968 at Washington State Prison in Walla Walla, Washington. He had been imprisoned for stabbing a man to death in October 1964. The official cause of death is listed as a heart attack, though some report he died of pneumonia or asphyxiation.

Little Willie John was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. He was inducted by Stevie Wonder. Wonder and Keith John, Willie’s youngest son, sang a tribute to Willie John opening the show with “FEVER”

Smiley Lewis (July 5, 1913 – October 7, 1966) was an American New Orleans rhythm and blues musician. The journalist, Tony Russell, in his book The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, stated "Lewis was the unluckiest man in New Orleans. He hit on a formula for slow-rocking, small-band numbers like "The Bells Are Ringing" and "I Hear You Knocking" only to have Fats Domino come up behind him with similar music more ingratiatingly delivered. Lewis was practically drowned in Domino's backwash".

He began playing clubs in the French Quarter and "Tan bars" in the 7th Ward, at times billed as Smiling Lewis, a variation of the nickname earned by his lack of front teeth, and often accompanied by pianist Isidore "Tuts" Washington, whom he spent the mid-1930s with in Thomas Jefferson's Dixieland band.

During World War II, he joined Washington again, this time with Ernest "Kid" Mollier's band entertaining soldiers stationed at Fort Polk outside of Bunkie, Louisiana while also serving as the house band at the Boogie Woogie Club. The two formed a trio with drummer Herman Seals after the war ended, and again began playing the French Quarter and down Bourbon Street.

An invitation by David Braun to record a session with his DeLuxe Records followed in 1947 for the trio and resulted in the release of his debut album, Here Comes Smiley, though Papa John French replaced Seals and played bass. The single "Turn On Your Volume" was a hit in local jukeboxes, but DeLuxe requested no more material and even left two other recorded sides unreleased. In 1954 he recorded the original version of Bartholomew's song "Blue Monday", a hit for Fats Domino two years later. In 1955 he achieved his biggest sales with the original recorded version of "I Hear You Knocking" (written by Bartholomew and Pearl King) featuring Huey Smith on piano.

His career rounded out with a brief stint at Okeh Records in 1961 that consisted of one single, a 45 produced by Bill "Hoss" Allen in 1964 for Dot Records, and ended with a Loma Records release of "The Bells Are Ringing", remade with record producer Allen Toussaint.

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