HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include " Baby, I Love You", "Who's Cheating Who?", and " Grits Ain't Groceries (All Around The World)". A native of the
Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yaz ...
, Milton began his recording career in 1953 at
Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...
before relocating to St. Louis and co-founding
Bobbin Records Bobbin Records was an American, St. Louis-based independent record label, founded by blues musician Little Milton and KATZ-AM disc jockey Bob Lyons in 1958. The label was instrumental in exposing Milton and other local artist to wider audience ...
in 1958. It wasn't until Milton signed to
Checker Records Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Record ...
that he achieved success on the charts. Other labels Milton recorded for include
Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...
,
Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface ( API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read i ...
, Glades, Golden Ear,
MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gen ...
, and
Malaco Malaco is a Swedish brand of confectionery products owned by Cloetta. Their products are sold in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the US, Israel and the Netherlands among others. Products include Brio, Fruxo, Pim Pim,Swedish Fish, Djungelvrå ...
. Milton was inducted into the
Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...
in 1988.


Biography

Milton was born James Milton Campbell Jr. on September 7, 1934 in Inverness, Mississippi. He was raised in
Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. H ...
by a farmer and local blues musician. By age twelve he was a street musician, chiefly influenced by
T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''R ...
and his blues 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 ...
contemporaries. He joined the Rhythm Aces in the early part of the 1950s, a three piece band who played throughout the
Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yaz ...
area. One of the members was
Eddie Cusic Eddie Cusic (January 4, 1926 – August 11, 2015) was an American Mississippi blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His small body of recorded works includes some erroneously credited to "Eddie Quesie" and "Eddie Cusie". Cusic had musical con ...
who taught Milton to play the guitar. In 1951, Milton recorded several sides backing pianist Willie Love for Trumpet Records. In 1953, while still a teenager playing in local bars, he was discovered by
Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...
, who was a talent scout for
Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...
at
Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...
. Milton signed a contract with the label and recorded a number of singles. None of them broke through onto radio or sold well at record stores, so Milton left the Sun label in 1955. The next two years he released singles on
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 Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and John Lee ...
' subsidiary, Meteor Records. In 1958, Milton moved to
East St. Louis East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
and set up the St. Louis-based
Bobbin Records Bobbin Records was an American, St. Louis-based independent record label, founded by blues musician Little Milton and KATZ-AM disc jockey Bob Lyons in 1958. The label was instrumental in exposing Milton and other local artist to wider audience ...
label, which ultimately scored a distribution deal with
Leonard Chess Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago bl ...
'
Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock a ...
. As a record producer, Milton helped bring artists such as
Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...
and
Fontella Bass Fontella Marie Bass (July 3, 1940 – December 26, 2012) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter best known for her number-one R&B hit " Rescue Me" in 1965. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award twice. Early life Fontella Bass was b ...
to fame, while experiencing his own success for the first time. After a number of small format and regional hits, his 1962 single, "So Mean to Me," broke onto 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 adverti ...
'' R&B
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...
, eventually peaking at #14. Following a short break to tour, managing other acts, and spending time recording new material, he returned to music in 1965 with a more polished sound, similar to that of B.B. King. After the ill-received "Blind Man" (R&B: #86), he released back-to-back hit singles. The first, "We're Gonna Make It," a blues-infused soul song, topped the R&B chart and broke through onto Top 40 radio, a format then dominated largely by white artists. He followed the song with #4 R&B hit "Who's Cheating Who?" All three songs were featured on his album, ''We're Gonna Make It'', released that summer. Milton's song "Let Me Down Easy" was recorded by the
Spencer Davis Group The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK numbe ...
on '' The Second Album'' (1965), but his authorship was not acknowledged on the record. He released a single of it himself in 1968 on Checker. It was also chosen by
Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...
as the final track in her final album ''
The Dreamer The Dreamer may refer to: Comics * ''The Dreamer'' (comics), a 1985 semi-autobiographical graphic novel by Will Eisner * ''The Dreamer'' (webcomic), a 2007–2017 comic book series and webcomic by Lora Innes Film and television * ''The Dreamer' ...
'' in 2011. Throughout the late 1960s Milton released a number of moderately successful singles, but did not issue a further album until 1969, with ''Grits Ain't Groceries'' featuring his hit of the same name, as well as " Just a Little Bit" and "Baby, I Love You". With the death of
Leonard Chess Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago bl ...
the same year, Milton's distributor,
Checker Records Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Record ...
fell into disarray, and Milton joined the
Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface ( API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read i ...
label two years later. Adding complex orchestration to his works, Milton scored hits with "That's What Love Will Make You Do" and "What It Is" from his live album, ''What It Is: Live at Montreux''. He appeared in the documentary film, '' Wattstax'', which was released in 1973. Stax, however, had been losing money since late in the previous decade and was forced into bankruptcy in 1975. After leaving Stax, Milton struggled to maintain a career, moving first to Evidence, then the
MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gen ...
imprint Mobile Fidelity Records, before finding a home at the independent record label,
Malaco Records Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, ...
, where he received his second GRAMMY nomination for "Welcome To Little Milton" in 1999. He remained with the label for much of the remainder of his career. His last hit single, "Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number," was released in 1983 from the album of the same name. In 1988, Milton was inducted into the
Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...
and won a W.C. Handy Award. His final album, ''Think of Me'', was released in May 2005 on the Telarc imprint, and included writing and guitar on three songs by Peter Shoulder of the UK-based blues-rock trio Winterville. Milton died at the age of 70 on August 4, 2005 from complications following a stroke. He was posthumously honored with a marker on the
Mississippi Blues Trail The Mississippi Blues Trail was created by the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2006 to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the birth, growth, and influence of the blues throughout (and in some cases beyond) ...
in Inverness.


Discography


Albums


Compilation albums

*''Greatest Hits'' (1972, Chess) *''Chess Blues Masters Series'' (1976, Chess) 2-LP *''His Greatest Sides Vol. 1'' (1983, Chess) *''The Sun Masters'' (1990, Rounder) *''Welcome to the Club: The Essential Chess Recordings'' (1994, MCA/Chess) 2-CD *''The Complete Stax Singles'' (1994, Fantasy) *''Stand By Me: The Blues Collection'' 48(1995, Orbis) *''Little Milton's Greatest Hits'' (1995, Malaco) *''Rockin' the Blues'' (1996, MCA Special Products) *''Greatest Hits (The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection)'' (1997, MCA/Chess) *''Chess Blues Guitar (Two Decades of Killer Fretwork 1949 to 1969)'' arious artists(1998 MCA/Chess) 2-CD *''Count the Days'' (1997, 601 Records) *''The Complete Checker Hit Singles'' (2001, Connoisseur Collection) *''Anthology 1953-1961'' (2002, Varèse Sarabande) *''Running Wild Blues'' (2006, Charly) *''Stax Profiles: Little Milton'' (2006, Stax) *'' The Very Best of Little Milton'' (2007, Stax) *''Chicago Blues and Soul via Memphis and St. Louis'' (2014, Jasmine) ''note: this is just a partial list''


Appearances on other albums

*
Jackie Ross Jackie Ross (born Jaculyn Bless Ross, 30 January 1946 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States) is an American soul singer. Ross sang gospel music as a child, and performed on a radio show run by her parents, both preachers. After her father died i ...
: ''Take the Weight Off Me'' (Grapevine) – Milton sings five
duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episod ...
with Ross *
Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...
,
Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader ...
, Little Milton: ''Montreux Festival'' (Stax, 1974) – a shared-album with King and Hamilton * Various artists: ''Vanthology: Tribute to Van Morrison'' (Evidence, 2004) – Milton covered
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...
's "
Tupelo Honey ''Tupelo Honey'' is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move ...
" * Jean Jacques Milteau: ''Memphis'' (Sunnyside) – Milton covered
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...
's "
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" is the first single released from Sting's solo debut album ''The Dream of the Blue Turtles''. It is also the opening track of the album, and is featured on '' Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994'' ...
" * E.C. Scott: ''The Other Side of Me'' (Black Bud) – Milton sings two duets with Scott * Gov't Mule: **''
The Deep End, Volume 1 ''The Deep End, Volume 1'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Gov't Mule. It was released on October 23, 2001, by ATO Records and Evangeline Records. After the death of founding member and bass guitarist Allen Woody, the band co ...
'' – Milton sings "Soulshine" with
Warren Haynes Warren Haynes (born April 6, 1960) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was ...
**'' Mulennium'' – live album -CD, 4-LP(Evil Teen, 2010) recorded December 31, 1999 at the Roxy Theatre,
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, Georgia **Wintertime Blues: Benefit Concert - a various artists performance from the 'Warren Haynes Christmas Jam' - December 22, 1999 *
Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
: ''The Chess Box'' – Milton performed "
I Can't Quit You Baby "I Can't Quit You Baby" is blues song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Chicago blues artist Otis Rush in 1956. It is a slow twelve-bar blues ensemble piece, with lyrics about the consequences of an adulterous relationship which is ...
" *
Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...
: ''That Kat Sure Could Play! The Singles 1951-1957'' ( Secret Records 2010) – Milton performs on six songs


Singles


References


External links


Official Little Milton website including biography



Official Little Milton store
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milton, Little 1934 births 2005 deaths African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Blues musicians from Mississippi Stax Records artists Sun Records artists Checker Records artists Chess Records artists Meteor Records artists Bobbin Records artists MCA Records artists Malaco Records artists Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Musicians from Greenville, Mississippi People from Inverness, Mississippi Soul-blues musicians 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers Mississippi Blues Trail 21st-century African-American male singers