AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Little Willie John

Artist:Little Willie John

Song:Fever

Album:The Very Best of Little Willie John

Most music fans are familiar with Peggy Lee's 1958 chart topper Fever. It's considered to be her signature song. Elvis Presley also recorded Fever. But you may not be familiar with Little Willie John's 1955 recording of Fever. It topped the R&B charts. But back in those days, plenty of radio stations refused to play black artists. This allowed white artists to copy the original version. Radio stations played those and that's how we got sanitized versions of doo wop classics. There's nothing wrong with Peggy Lee's version of Fever. But Little Willie John's original should have been a hit too. William Edward John was born Nov. 15, 1937 in Cullendale, AR. but his family moved to Detroit so his father could find factory work. John was one of ten children and some of them formed a gospel group in the late 40s. John performed in local clubs and he was spotted by Johnny Otis and signed by King Records house producer Henry Glover who named him Little Willie John because he was short. Glover produced Bill Doggett and Wynonie Harris among others. John charted with his first three singles. Then he topped the R&B Singles chart with Fever. It sold over a million copies and was certified Gold. But it only reached #24 on the pop charts meaning radio stations refused to play it. Fever was written by Eddie Cooley. He had a hit record with the 1956 single Priscilla but he was mostly a songwriter. Cooley had partially written Fever but he couldn't finish it. So he called legendary songwriter Otis Blackwell for help. After Blackwell finished the song, he used his stepfather's name John Davenport for the credit as he was under contract elsewhere. Supposedly John didn't like Fever. But Glover persuaded him to record it. And it turned out to be his biggest hit. John recorded for King until 1963. This Collectibles budget comp covers his entire career. John's short temper and alcohol abuse led to a 1965 manslaughter conviction in Washington. While he was appealing, John died of a heart attack on May 26, 1968 at age 30. John was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Here's a video for Fever by Little Willie John.