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, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...

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, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

". 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 debut single, "It's Midnight". He also recorded the first version of the song " Kansas City" (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 Don Wilkerson (c. 1932 – 18 July 1986) was an American soul jazz / R&B tenor saxophonist born in Moreauville, Louisiana, probably better known for his Blue Note Records recordings in the 1960s as bandleader with guitarist Grant Green. Prior t ...

, a friend from school. Littlefield was strongly influenced by the boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. A particular favourite of his was Ammons's "Swanee River Boogie", which he later recorded for Eddie's Records. Other major influences on Littlefield's style were the Texas musicians Charles Brown and Amos Milburn. Littlefield learned most of their "chops" and soon developed his own distinctive triplet style, which was widely copied by R&B musicians in the early 1950s, particularly

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

, who incorporated it into his New Orleans rhythm and blues. His first recording, "Little Willie's Boogie", was a hit in Texas in 1949 and brought him to the attention of

Jules Bihari The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origins. They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. The Bihari brothers we ...

, of Modern Records in Los Angeles, who was searching for a performer to rival the success of Amos Milburn. Bihari flew to Houston in July 1949 to investigate the city's black entertainment venues and heard of a "teenage wonder boy pianist" who was causing a stir at the Eldorado Ballroom. Bihari went to hear Littlefield and soon arranged for an audition at a local studio. The session was captured on

acetate disc An acetate disc (also known as a ''lacquer'', ''test acetate'', '' dubplate'', or ''transcription disc'') is a type of phonograph record generally used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes and still in limited use ...

, with Bihari, clearly audible in the background, calling for Littlefield to play popular R&B tunes of the day.

Success at Modern records

Back at Modern Records, he recorded "It's Midnight", which became a national hit, reaching number three on the '' Billboard''

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 p ...

, and its follow-up, "Farewell", which 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, arranger, bandleader and record producer. Biography Davis was born in Independence, Kansas in 1916. In 1937, he moved to L ...

. 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 Chickenshackers. Modern Records booked Littlefield for three recording sessions in October 1949, followed by more sessions over the next two months at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. During these three months alone, over 22 sides were cut – an unusual output compared to that of most other artists, who averaged only two sessions a year. Other musicians at these sessions included the saxophonists

and Buddy Floyd, the guitarists Chuck Norris and Johnny Moore, and the drummers Al Wichard and Jessie Price. 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-Cow ...

. 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 Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

subsidiary of King Records. His first session for Federal produced "K. C. Loving", written by

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...

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 Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record in 1959 with ...

as " Kansas City". By 1957 Littlefield had moved to northern California and continued to record for Don Barksdale's Rhythm label in San Francisco, for which he produced the single "Ruby, Ruby". Littlefield's recording and his subsequent releases were not successful, but he remained a popular performer in clubs in the San Francisco area. 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 in Dorset, in July 2009. He performed at Shakedown Blues Club, at Castor Village Hall, near Castor,

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, 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. Voorthuizen was founded, according to legend, near a crossing of a ford ('Voorde') of the Ganzenbeek, a brook that ...

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

Selected discography

Selected singles

* 1948 (late): "Little Willie's Boogie" / "My Best Wishes", Eddie's 1202 (10" shellac) * 1948 (late): "Medley Boogie", Eddie's (unreleased) * 1949 (early): "What's the Use" / "Chicago Bound", Eddie's 1205 (10" shellac) * c. 3/49: "Littlefield Boogie" (flip side, "Sweet Ole Woman's Blues" by

Goree Carter Goree Chester Carter or Christer Carter (December 31, 1930 – December 29, 1990), was an American singer, guitarist, drummer, and songwriter. He was also credited with the stage names Little T-Bone, Rocky Thompson and Gory Carter, and record ...

), Freedom 1502 (10" shellac) * 1949: "Boogie Woogie Playgirl" / "Swanee River" (piano solo), Eddie's 1212 (10" shellac) * 1949: "Midnight Whistle" / "It's Midnight", Modern 20-686 (10" shellac) * 1949: "Drinkin' Hadacol" / "Farewell", Modern 20-709 (10" shellac) * c. 12/49: "Come On Baby" / "Merry Christmas", Modern 20-716 (10" shellac) * 1950: "The Moon Is Risin'" / "Frightened", Modern 20-726 (10" shellac) * 3/50: "Your Love Wasn't So" / "Rocking Chair Mama", Modern 20-729 (10" shellac) * 1950: "Tell Me Baby" / "Why Leave Me All Alone", Modern 20-747 (10" shellac) * 1950: "Cheerful Baby" / "Happy Pay Day", Modern 20-754 (10" shellac) * 10/50: "Trouble Around Me" / "Hit the Road", Modern 20-775 (shellac, 10") * c. 11/50: "Ain't a Better Story Told" / "You Never Miss a Good Woman Till She's Gone", Modern 20-781 (10" shellac) * c. 12/50: "Come On Baby" / "Merry Christmas", Modern 20-785 (10" shellac) * 1951: "Once Was Lucky" / "I've Been Lost", Modern 20-801 (10" shellac) * 1951: "Lump in My Throat" / "Mean, Mean Woman", Modern 837 (10" shellac) * 1951: "Life of Trouble" / "Too Late for Me", Modern 854 (shellac, 10") * 1952: "Sticking on You Baby" / "Blood Is Redder Than Wine", Federal 12101 (10" shellac, 7" vinyl) * c. 11/52: "K. C. Loving" / "Pleading at Midnight", Federal 12110 (10" shellac, vinyl, 7") * 3/53 : "Turn the Lamps Down Low", duet with Little Esther hillips(flip side by Little Esther), Federal 12115 (10" shellac, vinyl, 7") * 1953: "The Midnight Hour Was Shining" / "My Best Wishes and Regards", Federal 12137 (10" shellac, 7" vinyl) * 1953: "Rock a Bye Baby" / "Miss K. C.'s Fine", Federal 12148 (10" shellac, 7" vinyl) * 1/54: "Please Don't Go-o-o-o-oh" / "Don't Take My Heart Little Girl", Federal 12163 (10" shellac, 7" vinyl) * 1954: "Falling Tears" / "Goofy Dust Blues" Federal 12174 (10" shellac, 7" vinyl) * 1955: "Jim Wilson's Boogie" / "Sitting on the Curbstone", Federal 12221 (10" shellac, 7" vinyl) * 8/57: "Mistreated" / "Baby Shame", Rhythm 107 (10" shellac, 7" vinyl) * 12/57: "Ruby-Ruby", with the Mondellos (vocal group) / "Easy Go" (instrumental), Rhythm 108 (7" vinyl) * 1958: "Theresa", with female vocal group / "The Day the Rains Came" (instrumental), Rhythm 124 (7" vinyl) * 1958: "Ruby-Ruby", with the Mondellos (vocal group) / "Easy Go" (instrumental), Bullseye 1005 (shellac, 10", 7" vinyl) * 1958: "I Need a Payday" / "I Want a Little Girl", Rhythm 115 (7" vinyl) * c. 4/59: "Kansas City" K. C. Loving"/ "The Midnight Hour Was Shining", Federal 12351 (7" vinyl) * 1959: "Goodbye Baby" / "I Wanna Love You", Rhythm 130 (7" vinyl) * 1960: "Ruby-Ruby", with the Mondellos (vocal group) / "Easy Go" (instrumental), Argyle 1013 (7" vinyl) * 1975: "Mac's Old House" / "San Jose Express", Blues Connoisseur 1008 (7" vinyl) * 1976: "Willie's Blues" / "I'll Tell the World I Do", Blues Connoisseur 1011 (7" vinyl)

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 club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

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 ''Singalong with Little Willie Littlefield'' is a studio album by United States, American Rhythm and blues, R&B and Boogie-woogie pianist and vocalist Little Willie Littlefield. Content The album was recorded in 1987 at The Farmsound Studio in He ...

'',

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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'',

OLCD 7005 (recorded June 1997) * 2006: ''Little Willie Littlefield Live'', 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) * 1980: ''Volume 1'',

10 CH 24 (10" 8-track album) * 1981: ''Volume 2'',

10 CH 34 (10" 8-track album) * 1984: ''Jump with Little Willie Littlefield'',

CHD 114 * 1993: '' I'm in the Mood'',

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

CDCHD 503 * 1999: ''Kat on the Keys'',

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

CDCHD 1056

References

External links

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* * {{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 people