Song:Let The Little Girl Dance
Album:American Heartbeat 1960
Let The Little Girl Dance was a top ten hit in 1960. It was the only big hit for Billy Bland. Some of his other songs charted so technically he is not a one hit wonder. And the story behind this record is pretty funny. He was born Apr. 4, 1932 in Wilmington, NC the youngest of 19 children. in 1947, he moved to New York with The Four Bees and they signed with Imperial Records. Legendary producer Dave Bartholomew brought them to New Orleans to record Toy Bell, a variation on Bartholomew's My Ding-A Ling. Bland left to go solo in 1955 and he signed with Old Town Records. He released a few singles that he wrote including Chicken Hop and Chicken In A Basket. I guess he had a thing for chicken. One of the problems I can see with Bland is he sounds a lot like Jackie Wilson. In 1960 he is in the recording studio listening to Titus Turner record Let The Little Girl Dance. Unsatisfied with Turner's performance, producer Henry Glover asked Bland to show Turner how to sing the song. That's what he did. But Bland didn't know that Glover was recording him. Old Town released it as a single and Let The Little Girl Dance reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Glover wrote the song with Carl Spencer of the doo wop group The Star Steppers. A couple of Bland's other singles charted but Let The Little Girl Dance was his only big hit. Ace and Collectables have released Billy Bland comps. But I think most folks will only want the one song. And you can get it on this 2CD various artists budget comp. Billy Bland quit the music business in 1964 and he opened a soul food restaurant in Harlem. There's the chicken connection. He died on Mar. 22, 2017 at age 84. Here's a video for Let The Little Girl Dance by Billy Bland.
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