Willie Littlefield, Jr., billed as Little Willie Littlefield (September 16, 1931 – June 23, 2013), was an American R&B and

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...

pianist and singer whose early recordings "formed a vital link between

and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

". Littlefield was regarded as a teenage wonder and overnight sensation when in 1949, at the age of 18, he popularized the triplet piano style on his

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Hadda Brooks, Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turn ...

debut single, "It's Midnight". He also recorded the first version of the song "

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

" (originally issued as "K. C. Lovin'"), in 1952.

Career

Early career

Littlefield was born in El Campo, Texas, and grew up in Houston with his mother. By 1947, at the age of sixteen, he was already a local attraction in many of the clubs on Dowling Street in Houston and was recording for Eddie Henry, a local record shop proprietor who ran his own label, Eddie's Records.Topping, Ray (1984). Sleeve notes. ''Jump with Little Willie Littlefield''. Ace Records CHD114. He formed his first band with the saxophonist Don Wilkerson, a friend from school. Other major influences on Littlefield's style were the Texas musicians Charles Brown and

Amos Milburn Joseph Amos Milburn (April 1, 1927 – January 3, 1980) was an American R&B singer and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. One commentator noted, "Milburn excelled at good-natured, upbeat romps about booze and partying, imbued with a ...

. His first recording, "Little Willie's Boogie", was a hit in Texas in 1949 and brought him to the attention of Jules Bihari, of

in Los Angeles, who was searching for a performer to rival the success of Amos Milburn.

Success at Modern records

Littlefield returned to Modern Records and recorded "It's Midnight". It reached number three on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

, and its follow-up, "Farewell", reached number five. He became a major nightclub attraction and recorded with West Coast musicians such as

Maxwell Davis Thomas Maxwell Davis, Jr. (January 14, 1916 – September 18, 1970), was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist, arrangement, arranger, bandleader and record producer. Biography Davis was born in Independence, Kansas in 1916. In 1937, h ...

. Don Wilkerson, Littlefield's schoolmate and the leading saxophone player in his band, also travelled to Los Angeles, but Milburn promptly persuaded him to lead Milburn's new band, the

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

Chickenshackers. One of his 1950 recordings, "Happy Pay Day", written by Jack Holmes, was later rewritten by Holmes with entirely different lyrics as " The Blacksmith Blues", which became a hit for

Ella Mae Morse Ella Mae Morse (September 12, 1924 – October 16, 1999) was an American singer of popular music whose 1940s and 1950s recordings mixing jazz, blues, and country styles influenced the development of rock and roll. Her 1942 recording of " Cow-Co ...

. In 1951, his duet with Little Lora Wiggins, "I've Been Lost", reached number 10 on the R&B chart. In 1952 he moved to the Federal subsidiary of King Records. His first session for Federal produced "K. C. Loving", written by

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

and later re-recorded by

Wilbert Harrison Wilbert Huntington Harrison (January 5, 1929 – October 26, 1994) was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player. Biography Harrison was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He had a Hot 100 number-one hits o ...

as "

". In the late 1970s he toured Europe successfully, settling in the Netherlands and releasing a number of albums from 1982 into the late 1990s for the

Oldie Blues Oldie Blues was a Dutch record label founded and owned by Martin van Olderen. History The label was founded in 1974 and focused primarily on piano blues, boogie-woogie and Delta blues, issuing 46 LPs and 13 CDs.Wynn, Neil, ''Cross the Water Blu ...

label from Martin van Olderen.

Retirement and comeback

After touring for more than 50 years, Littlefield stopped in 2000. After five years of retirement in his adopted home country, the Netherlands, he decided to play again, starting in 2006, declaring, "I went fishing for five years – now I know every herring in Holland by name – it got boring. I feel great and I want to be back with my audience." In his later years Littlefield continued to perform occasionally, mainly at festivals, particularly in the UK. In 2008 he played at the 20th Burnley Blues Festival, in 2008, and at the 5th annual UK Boogie Woogie Festival at

Sturminster Newton Sturminster Newton is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish situated on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour in the north of Dorset, England. The town is at the centre of the Blackmore Vale, a large dairy agriculture region around w ...

in Dorset, in July 2009. He performed at Shakedown Blues Club, at Castor Village Hall, near Castor,

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, in 2006 and made a return appearance in October 2010. He died at his home in

Voorthuizen Voorthuizen ( Dutch Low Saxon: ''Voorthuzen'') is a village in the municipality of Barneveld, in the Dutch province of Gelderland. Tourism Voorthuizen is a tourist village, located on the edge of the Veluwe. East of the village is a high ...

, Netherlands, in 2013, at the age of 81. He had cancer.

Selected discography

Albums

* 1980: ''Paris Streetlights'', Paris Album PLB 2 28508 (recorded May 14, 1980); reissued on CD, 1996, EPM Blues Collection BC 157802 * 1982: '' Houseparty'',

OL 8003 (recorded June 1982) * 1983: '' I'm in the Mood'',

OL 8006 (recorded 1983) * 1985: ''Happy Pay Day'',

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

CH 150 * 1987: ''Plays the Boogie Woogie'', Schubert Records SCH-100 (recorded 1987); reissued on CD, 1992, Munich CMA CM 8013 * 1990: '' Singalong with Little Willie Littlefield'',

OLCD 7001 (recorded 1987) * 1992: ''...Goes Rhythm 'n Blues'', CMA Music CMA CM 10002 * 1993: ''The Stars of Rhythm 'n Blues!'' CMA Music CMA CM 10007 * 1994: '' Yellow Boogie & Blues'',

OLCD 7006 (recorded 1994) * 1997: '' The Red One'',

OLCD 7005 (recorded June 1997) * 2006: ''Little Willie Littlefield Live – Music Keeps You Young'', Schubert Records SCH-205 (recorded live in Germany, April 20, 2006) * 2008: ''Old Time Feeling'', Stormy Monday 81242

Selected compilation albums

* 1977: ''K.C. Loving'', K.C. 101 (LP/14 tracks) * 1979: ''It's Midnight'', Route 66 KIX-10 (LP/16 tracks) * 1980: ''Volume 1'',

10CH 24 (10" LP/8 tracks) * 1981: ''Volume 2'',

10CH 34 (10" LP/8 tracks) * 1984: ''Jump with Little Willie Littlefield'',

CHD 114 (LP/16 tracks) * 1993: '' I'm in the Mood'',

OLCD 7002 (recorded 1982, 1983) * 1995: ''Going Back to Kay Cee'',

CDCHD 503 * 1999: ''Kat on the Keys (The Legendary Modern Recordings)'',

CDCHD 736 * 2005: ''Boogie, Blues and Bounce: The Modern Recordings, Volume 2'',

CDCHD 1056 * 2018: ''The Best of the Rest – Selected Recordings from Eddie's, Federal & Rhythm Years 1948–1958'',

Jasmine Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

JASMCD 3090

References

External links

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Little Willie Littlefield discography
compiled by Pete Hoppula
Little Willie Littlefield discography
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Littlefield, Little Willie 1931 births 2013 deaths African-American pianists American blues pianists American male pianists American rhythm and blues musicians Boogie-woogie pianists Jump blues musicians People from El Campo, Texas Modern Records artists Federal Records artists Ace Records (United Kingdom) artists Oldie Blues artists West Coast blues musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians