"Little Bitty Pretty One" is a 1957 song written and originally recorded by Bobby Day. That same year, the song was popularized by Thurston Harris. Produced by Aladdin Records (located in Los Angeles, Calif.), and featuring the Sharps on backing vocals, Harris' version reached No. 6 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Best-Sellers chart and No. 2 on the R&B chart. The Bobby Day version reached No. 11 in the Canadian

CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart is a long-running Canadian hit parade countdown radio show, originally aired on Toronto radio station CHUM AM then later revived on its sister station CHUM-FM. It consisted of 50 top tunes from May 1957 to July 1968, but in Augus ...

. In 1991, Jacqueline Byrd, the widow of songwriter Bobby Day, told lawmakers that she had intercepted a letter addressed to her husband. The letter from the Copyright Office stated that the copyright to "Little Bitty Pretty One" was not renewed, thus ending royalty payments to Day and the song's publisher. Byrd never told her husband, who was dying of cancer, about the letter. If the song's copyright were renewed, Byrd and her four children would have received royalty payments until 2037."Bush Likely to OK Bill That Would Renew All Pre-1978 Copyrights."
Billboard 20 June 1992.

Reception

Bryan Thomas writes that the song "has gone on to become one of the best loved oldies of the late '50s". The song is famous for its hummed opening. It was used in the 1983 horror film '' Christine'', the 1989 comedy/fantasy film '' Little Monsters'', and the 1996 comedy/fantasy film '' Matilda''.

Cover versions

* Frankie Lymon reached No. 58 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1960. *

Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pio ...

returned it to the top 40 in the US, when his recording peaked at No. 25 on the Hot 100 in 1962. *The Dave Clark 5 covered it in 1965 on their US Top 25 "Weekend in London" album * Wayne Cochran covered it in 1967 *In 1972, the Jackson 5 included it on their album, '' Lookin' Through the Windows'', and took the song to No. 13 on the Hot 100. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' praised the performance. * Screamin' Jay Hawkins covered it in 1979. *

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

, in 1983 on his ''

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

'' album. *In 1994,

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News (formerly known as Huey Lewis & The American Express) are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singl ...

did their take for their album '' Four Chords & Several Years Ago''. * Billy Gilman did a cover in it and included it on his ''One Voice'' album in 2000. * Aaron Carter performed "Little Bitty Pretty One" for the 2001 Disney movie ''The Princess Diaries''. *

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

used an interpolation on the song "So Good Right Now" on their 2023 album '' So Much (for) Stardust.'' *

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...

played this song many times in their concerts going back to their inception, but eventually released two versions of the song. The first in 2000 for their box set "Long Train Runnin': 1970–2000" which was also included as a bonus track on the Japan edition of Sibling Rivalry. They released a live version in 2004 on their live album Live at Wolf Trap.

"Wiggle, Wiggle"

"Little Bitty Pretty One" was the inspiration for the Accents' sole hit "Wiggle Wiggle" in 1958, and though the similarities were evidently not sufficient to warrant a lawsuit, Aladdin Records took the expedient step of covering the song with a group called the Chestnuts.

References

1957 songs 1957 singles 1962 singles 1972 singles Bobby Day songs Clyde McPhatter songs The Jackson 5 songs Checkmates, Ltd. songs Songs written by Bobby Day Aladdin Records singles Motown singles Frankie Lymon songs {{1950s-single-stub