"Just a Little Bit" is an R&B-style blues song recorded by

Rosco Gordon Rosco N. Gordon III (April 10, 1928 – July 11, 2002), sometimes billed as Roscoe Gordon, was an American blues singer, pianist, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit songs "Booted," (1952), " No More Doggin'" (1952), and " Just a Littl ...

in 1959. It was a hit in both the R&B and pop charts. Called "one of the standards of contemporary blues," "Just a Little Bit" has been recorded by various other artists, including

Little Milton James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his List of number-one R&B singles of 1965 (U.S.), number-one R&B single "We're Gonna Ma ...

and Roy Head, who also had record chart successes with the song.

Background

"Just a Little Bit" was developed when Rosco Gordon was touring with West Coast blues artist Jimmy McCracklin. According to Gordon, McCracklin started to write the song and agreed that Gordon could finish it, with both of them sharing the credit. Gordon later presented a demo version to Ralph Bass at King Records, who was reportedly uninterested in the song. Gordon then approached Calvin Carter at

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

, who agreed to record it. Meanwhile, Federal Records, a King Records subsidiary, released a version of "Just a Little Bit" by R&B singer Tiny Topsy, with songwriting credit given to Ralph Bass and several others unknown to Gordon. The Tiny Topsy song, featuring a pop-style arrangement with background singers and flute, did not reach the record charts.

Rosco Gordon song

Rosco Gordon's "Just a Little Bit" was released in late 1959 and entered the ''Billboard'' R&B chart in February 1960. An early review described the song as "a rhymba humbablues", a reference to Gordon's "slightly shambolic, loping style of piano shuffle called 'Rosco's Rhythm. The original Vee-Jay single lists Gordon as the songwriter, although some later issues (and versions by other artists) list Bass and others as the writers. "Just a Little Bit" was Rosco Gordon's fourth (and last) single to enter the R&B chart, where it reached number two during a stay of seventeen weeks in 1960. "Just a Little Bit" also appeared on ''Billboard''s

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

at number 64, making it Gordon's only song to enter the broader chart.

Renditions and influence

Several musicians have recorded "Just a Little Bit". In 1965, a version by American singer Roy Head reached numbers 39 on the Hot 100 and 18 on the Canadian singles chart. When

soul blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by artists s ...

artist

recorded it in 1969, it peaked at number 13 on ''Billboard''s Hot R&B Sides chart and number 97 on the Hot 100.Whitburn 1988, p. 259. According to music writer Steve Turner, the opening horn line of the original Roscoe Gordon version influenced

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

during the writing of the 1968 Beatles song "Birthday".

References

{{authority control 1959 songs Blues songs 1960 singles Vee-Jay Records singles 1965 singles 1969 singles Roy Head songs