"The Wallflower" (also known as "Roll with Me, Henry" and "Dance with Me, Henry") is a 1955 song by

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

. It was one of several

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

s to " Work with Me, Annie" and has the same

12-bar blues The twelve-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly base ...

form.

Lyrics and release

The song was written by

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes (Greek language, Greek: Ιωάννης Αλέξανδρος Βελιώτης)); December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was a Greek American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, ...

Hank Ballard Hank Ballard (born John Henry Kendricks; November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of the Midnighters and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an inte ...

, and Etta James. Etta James recorded it for

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 ...

, with uncredited vocal responses from Richard Berry. It was popularly known as "Roll with Me Henry". This original version was considered too risqué to play on pop radio stations. The song is a dialogue between "Henry" and the singer: *Hey baby, whatta I have to do to make you love me too? *You've got to roll with me Henry The context is the dance floor.

The Midnighters The Midnighters were an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan. They were an influential group in the 1950s and early 1960s, with many R&B hit records. They were also notable for launching the career of lead singer Hank Ballard and the w ...

also recorded an "answer to the answer": "Henry's Got Flat Feet (Can't Dance No More)". Under the title "The Wallflower," the single became a rhythm and blues hit, topping the US ''

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 ...

for four weeks. On ''

'''s Top R&B Records of 1955 list, it ranked No. 6 according to retail sales, No. 3 according to disk jockey plays and No. 15 according to jukebox plays. The song was reissued as "Roll with Me, Henry" on

Kent Records Kent Records was a Los Angeles–based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. It was a subsidiary of Crown Records Corporation. Kent was a follow-up to Modern Records, which ceased operations in 1958. The label reissued Modern's sin ...

in 1960. In 2008,

received a

Grammy Hall of Fame Award The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

for her 1955 recording.

Georgia Gibbs version

In 1955, the song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

for the pop market by

Georgia Gibbs Georgia Gibbs (born Frieda Lipschitz; August 17, 1918December 9, 2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs achieved acclaim and notoriety in the mid-1950s copyin ...

, with uncredited vocal responses from Thurl Ravenscroft, under the title "Dance with Me Henry." That version charted, hitting the top five of several pop charts, including No. 1 on the Most Played In Juke Boxes chart on May 14, 1955, spending three weeks on top of that chart.Joel Whitburn, ''Top Pop Singles 1955-1999'' (Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, 2000), 255, 921. In 1958, Etta James recorded her own cover of "Dance with Me Henry".

References

1955 songs 1955 singles Etta James songs Blues songs Songs written by Hank Ballard Songs written by Johnny Otis Modern Records singles Answer songs Songs about dancing Kent Records singles {{1950s-R&B-song-stub