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Goofy Dust Blues by Little Willie Littlefield

Artist Biography For Little Willie Littlefield

Little Willie Littlefield Willie Littlefield Jr. September 16 1931 – June 23 2013 Was An American R&B And Boogie-Woogie Pianist And Singer Whose Early Recordings Formed A Vital Link Between Boogie-Woogie And Rock And Roll. Littlefield Was Regarded As A Teenage Wonder And Overnight Sensation When In 1949 At The Age Of 18 He Popularized The Triplet Piano Style On His Modern Records Debut Single "It's Midnight". He Also Recorded The First Version Of The Song "Kansas City" Originally Issued As "K. C. Lovin'" In 1952. Littlefield Was Born In El Campo Texas And Grew Up In Houston With His Mother. By 1947 At The Age Of Sixteen He Was Already A Local Attraction In Many Of The Clubs On Dowling Street In Houston And Was Recording For Eddie Henry A Local Record Shop Proprietor Who Ran His Own Label Eddie's Records. He Formed His First Band With The Saxophonist Don Wilkerson A Friend From School. Littlefield Was Strongly Influenced By The Boogie-Woogie Pianist Albert Ammons. A Particular Favourite Of His Was Ammons's "Swanee River Boogie" Which He Later Recorded For Eddie's Records. Other Major Influences On Littlefield's Style Were The Texas Musicians Charles Brown And Amos Milburn. Littlefield Learned Most Of Their "chops" And Soon Developed His Own Distinctive Triplet Style Which Was Widely Copied By R&B Musicians In The Early 1950s Particularly Fats Domino Who Incorporated It Into His New Orleans Rhythm And Blues. His First Recording "Little Willie’s Boogie" Was A Hit In Texas In 1949 And Brought Him To The Attention Of Jules Bihari Of Modern Records In Los Angeles Who Was Searching For A Performer To Rival The Success Of Amos Milburn. Bihari Flew To Houston In July 1949 To Investigate The City's Black Entertainment Venues And Heard Of A "teenage Wonder Boy Pianist" Who Was Causing A Stir At The Eldorado Ballroom. Bihari Went To Hear Littlefield And Soon Arranged For An Audition At A Local Studio. The Session Was Captured On Acetate Disc With Bihari Clearly Audible In The Background Calling For Littlefield To Play Popular R&B Tunes Of The Day. Back At Modern Records He Recorded "It's Midnight" Which Became A National Hit Reaching Number Three On The Billboard R&B Chart And Its Follow-Up "Farewell" Which Reached Number Five. He Became A Major Nightclub Attraction And Recorded With West Coast Musicians Such As Maxwell Davis. Don Wilkerson Littlefield's Schoolmate And The Leading Saxophone Player In His Band Also Travelled To Los Angeles But Milburn Promptly Persuaded Him To Lead Milburn's New Band The Aladdin Chickenshackers. Modern Records Booked Littlefield For Three Recording Sessions In October 1949 Followed By More Sessions Over The Next Two Months At Radio Recorders In Hollywood. During These Three Months Alone Over 22 Sides Were Cut – An Unusual Output Compared To That Of Most Other Artists Who Averaged Only Two Sessions A Year. Other Musicians At These Sessions Included The Saxophonists Maxwell Davis And Buddy Floyd The Guitarists Chuck Norris And Johnny Moore And The Drummers Al Wichard And Jessie Price. One Of His 1950 Recordings "Happy Pay Day" Written By Jack Holmes Was Later Rewritten By Holmes With Entirely Different Lyrics As "The Blacksmith Blues" Which Became A Hit For Ella Mae Morse. In 1951 His Duet With Little Lora Wiggins "I've Been Lost" Reached Number 10 On The R&B Chart. In 1952 He Moved To The Federal Subsidiary Of King Records. His First Session For Federal Produced "K. C. Loving" Written By Jerry Leiber And Mike Stoller And Later Re-Recorded By Wilbert Harrison As "Kansas City". By 1957 Littlefield Had Moved To Northern California And Continued To Record For Don Barksdale's Rhythm Label In San Francisco For Which He Produced The Single "Ruby Ruby". Littlefield’s Recording And His Subsequent Releases Were Not Successful But He Remained A Popular Performer In Clubs In The San Francisco Area. In The Late 1970s He Toured Europe Successfully Settling In The Netherlands And Releasing A Number Of Albums From 1982 Into The Late 1990s For The Oldie Blues Label From Martin Van Olderen. After Touring For More Than 50 Years Littlefield Stopped In 2000. After Five Years Of Retirement In His Adopted Home Country The Netherlands He Decided To Play Again Starting In 2006 Declaring "I Went Fishing For Five Years – Now I Know Every Herring In Holland By Name – It Got Boring. I Feel Great And I Want To Be Back With My Audience." In His Later Years Littlefield Continued To Perform Occasionally Mainly At Festivals Particularly In The UK. In 2008 He Played At The 20th Burnley Blues Festival In 2008 And At The 5th Annual UK Boogie Woogie Festival At Sturminster Newton In Dorset In July 2009. He Performed At Shakedown Blues Club At Castor Hall Near Castor Peterborough In 2006 And Made A Return Appearance In October 2010. He Died At His Home In Voorthuizen Netherlands In 2013 At The Age Of 81. He Had Cancer. Selected Discography Selected Singles 1948 Late "Little Willie's Boogie" / "My Best Wishes" Eddie's 1202 10" Shellac 1948 Late "Medley Boogie" Eddie's Unreleased 1949 Early "What's The Use" / "Chicago Bound" Eddie's 1205 10" Shellac C. 3/49 "Littlefield Boogie" Flip Side "Sweet Ole Woman's Blues" By Goree Carter Freedom 1502 10" Shellac 1949 "Boogie Woogie Playgirl" / "Swanee River" Piano Solo Eddie's 1212 10" Shellac 1949 "Midnight Whistle" / "It's Midnight" Modern 20-686 10" Shellac 1949 "Drinkin' Hadacol" / "Farewell" Modern 20-709 10" Shellac C. 12/49 "Come On Baby" / "Merry Christmas" Modern 20-716 10" Shellac 1950 "The Moon Is Risin'" / "Frightened" Modern 20-726 10" Shellac 3/50 "Your Love Wasn't So" / "Rocking Chair Mama" Modern 20-729 10" Shellac 1950 "Tell Me Baby" / "Why Leave Me All Alone" Modern 20-747 10" Shellac 1950 "Cheerful Baby" / "Happy Pay Day" Modern 20-754 10" Shellac 10/50 "Trouble Around Me" / "Hit The Road" Modern 20-775 Shellac 10" C. 11/50 "Ain't A Better Story Told" / "You Never Miss A Good Woman Till She's Gone" Modern 20-781 10" Shellac C. 12/50 "Come On Baby" / "Merry Christmas" Modern 20-785 10" Shellac 1951 "Once Was Lucky" / "I've Been Lost" Modern 20-801 10" Shellac 1951 "Lump In My Throat" / "Mean Mean Woman" Modern 837 10" Shellac 1951 "Life Of Trouble" / "Too Late For Me" Modern 854 Shellac 10" 1952 "Sticking On You Baby" / "Blood Is Redder Than Wine" Federal 12101 10" Shellac 7" Vinyl C. 11/52 "K. C. Loving" / "Pleading At Midnight" Federal 12110 10" Shellac Vinyl 7" 3/53 "Turn The Lamps Down Low" Duet With Little Esther Phillips Flip Side By Little Esther Federal 12115 10" Shellac Vinyl 7" 1953 "The Midnight Hour Was Shining" / "My Best Wishes And Regards" Federal 12137 10" Shellac 7" Vinyl 1953 "Rock A Bye Baby" / "Miss K. C.'s Fine" Federal 12148 10" Shellac 7" Vinyl 1/54 "Please Don't Go-O-O-O-Oh" / "Don't Take My Heart Little Girl" Federal 12163 10" Shellac 7" Vinyl 1954 "Falling Tears" / "Goofy Dust Blues" Federal 12174 10" Shellac 7" Vinyl 1955 "Jim Wilson's Boogie" / "Sitting On The Curbstone" Federal 12221 10" Shellac 7" Vinyl 8/57 "Mistreated" / "Baby Shame" Rhythm 107 10" Shellac 7" Vinyl 12/57 "Ruby-Ruby" With The Mondellos Vocal Group / "Easy Go" Instrumental Rhythm 108 7" Vinyl 1958 "Theresa" With Female Vocal Group / "The Day The Rains Came" Instrumental Rhythm 124 7" Vinyl 1958 "Ruby-Ruby" With The Mondellos Vocal Group / "Easy Go" Instrumental Bullseye 1005 Shellac 10" 7" Vinyl 1958 "I Need A Payday" / "I Want A Little Girl" Rhythm 115 7" Vinyl C. 4/59 "Kansas City" "K. C. Loving" / "The Midnight Hour Was Shining" Federal 12351 7" Vinyl 1959 "Goodbye Baby" / "I Wanna Love You" Rhythm 130 7" Vinyl 1960 "Ruby-Ruby" With The Mondellos Vocal Group / "Easy Go" Instrumental Argyle 1013 7" Vinyl 1975 "Mac's Old House" / "San Jose Express" Blues Connoisseur 1008 7" Vinyl 1976 "Willie's Blues" / "I'll Tell The World I Do" Blues Connoisseur 1011 7" Vinyl Albums 1980 Paris Streetlights Paris Album PLB 2 28508 Recorded May 14 1980 Reissued On CD 1996 EPM Blues Collection BC 157802
1982 Houseparty Oldie Blues OL 8003 Recorded June 1982 1983 I'm In The Mood Oldie Blues OL 8006 Recorded 1983 1985 Happy Pay Day Ace CH 150
1987 Plays The Boogie Woogie Schubert Records SCH-100 Recorded 1987 Reissued On CD 1992 Munich CMA CM 8013
1990 Singalong With Little Willie Littlefield Oldie Blues OLCD 7001 Recorded 1987 1992 ... Goes Rhythm 'n Blues CMA Music CMA CM 10002
1993 The Stars Of Rhythm 'n Blues! CMA Music CMA CM 10007
1994 Yellow Boogie & Blues Oldie Blues OLCD 7006 Recorded 1994 1997 The Red One Oldie Blues OLCD 7005 Recorded June 1997 2006 Little Willie Littlefield Live Schubert Records SCH-205 Recorded Live In Germany April 20 2006 2008 Old Time Feeling Stormy Monday 81242 Selected Compilation Albums 1977 K. C. Loving K.C. 101 LP 1980 Volume 1 Ace 10 CH 24 10" 8-Track Album 1981 Volume 2 Ace 10 CH 34 10" 8-Track Album 1984 Jump With Little Willie Littlefield Ace CHD 114
1993 I'm In The Mood Oldie Blues OLCD 7002 Recorded 1982 1983 1995 Going Back To Kay Cee Ace CDCHD 503
1999 Kat On The Keys Ace CDCHD 736
2005 Boogie Blues And Bounce The Modern Recordings Volume 2 Ace CDCHD 1056

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