"All Around the World" is a 1955 hit song by
Little Willie John written by
Titus Turner
Titus Lee Turner (May 1, 1933 – September 13, 1984) was an American R&B and East Coast blues singer and songwriter. His best-remembered recordings are "We Told You Not to Marry" and "Sound-Off". He also wrote "Leave My Kitten Alone", "St ...
. The song was the debut single and first hit for Little Willie John, and a hit in 1969 for
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 number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include " Baby, I Love ...
, renamed as "Grits Ain't Groceries".
Milton's version reached No. 5 on the
US ''
Billboard''
R&B chart,
and No. 73 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
James Booker
James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was a New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Booker's unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards. Musician Dr. J ...
also covered the song on his album ''Classified'', and Leigh Harris and Larry Sieberth covered it on the album ''Patchwork: A Tribute to James Booker''.
Edwin Starr
Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one ...
recorded the track for his 1970 LP ''
War & Peace'' on
Motown Records.
Lou Rawls also covered the song on for
Blue Note Records, on his album ''
It's Supposed to Be Fun'', released January 1, 1990, which became a hit.
Lyrics
The song is a profession of the singer's love for someone addressed as "my baby," describing what else wouldn't be true if he doesn't love his woman. Each verse ends with this refrain:
Well, if I don't love you, baby
Grits ain't groceries
Eggs ain't poultry
And Mona Lisa was a man.
See also
All Around the World Lyrics
References
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Little Willie John songs
1955 songs
Songs written by Titus Turner