"Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)" is a single by

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

, released in 1967 from the entertainer's first

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

album, '' Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings''. On the 1968 album '' 200 M.P.H.'', Cosby states that the song was dedicated to his grandfather.

Background

A comedic parody which Cosby narrated about "a little ole man" whom he discovers three times, first getting hit by a

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

, later being run over by

elephants Elephants are the Largest and heaviest animals, largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian ele ...

, and lastly having no recollection of either incident. The musical instrumental, chorus, and accompanying background vocals were a direct lift of the

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

1965 song "

Uptight (Everything's Alright) "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder for the Tamla (Motown) label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first hit single that Wonder himself co-w ...

", which had been a recent hit, and the authorship of "Little Ole Man" is credited solely to the authors of "Uptight". "Uptight" co-author Henry Cosby has no relation to Bill Cosby.

Chart history

The single became an unexpected hit for Cosby, reaching number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

References

{{authority control Comedy songs Bill Cosby songs Warner Records singles 1967 songs Songs written by Henry Cosby Songs written by Sylvia Moy Songs written by Stevie Wonder