Little Willie John

Welcome to the Little Willie John My Space Page!

They called him “The Prince of the Blues,” but Little Willie John could sing anything: The blues, rhythm and blues, rock, and jazz standards, even country.

A small man with a very big talent, William Edward John was born on Nov. 15, 1937 into the musical John family in Arkansas. The family soon moved to Detroit. He lived just 30 short years but left a body of work that continues to thrill music fans of all ages.

From the moment his first hits “All Around the World,” and the worldwide smash “Fever” hit the airwaves, Willie John caught the attention of music fans. The subtlety and depth of emotion Willie expressed with his fluid voice inspired the likes of his peers B.B. King, Jerry Butler and James Brown, as well as younger generations of singers and musicians like Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder and the Beatles. His romantic ballads like “Talk to Me, Talk to Me” prompted swooning female fans to throw purses, stockings and underwear at Willie a decade before Tom Jones was being showered with lingerie.

James Brown learned from the master, opening for Little Willie John at the Apollo Theater, in the late ‘50s. Bobby Schiffman of the Apollo Theater told Ted Fox, in the book “Showtime at the Apollo”: “Willie John in my opinion was the best male singer I ever heard. He used to send chills up and down my spine, and I never met another singer with that kind of emotion and feeling in his songs.”

Willie appeared on countless TV shows, including Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand,” the “Mike Douglas Show,” and Ed Sullivan’s “Talk of the Town.” In 1996, Willie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Stevie Wonder. In recent years his voice can be heard in movies ranging from John Sayles’ “Lone Star,” (“My Love Is” served as the love theme), to the Michael Douglas film “Wonder Boys.”

“Like so many rhythm and blues pioneers, Little Willie John has never received the recognition he deserves,” Jerry Butler wrote in his memoir, “Only the Strong Survive.” And yet his music has never been out of print, and sells steadily today.

Although Willie John has been gone from this earth 40 years this May, his fans all over the world will be thrilled to know that a new CD of never-released songs he recorded in the late ‘60s in Los Angeles is in the works.

Finally, there will finally be a biography of Little Willie John, a no-holds-barred account of his triumphs and tragedies written by author and journalist Susan Whitall (“Women of Motown”) with the help of Kevin John, Willie’s oldest son.

The book will include never-before seen photos of Willie and his family; and for the first time, the details of his life with wife Darlynn, the beautiful Apollo Theater dancer he married in 1957, and his two sons Kevin and Keith, both of whom inherited his vocal talents (Keith sings backup for Stevie Wonder, to this day).

You’ll read personal anecdotes by Willie’s musician friends, among them B.B. King, Levi Stubbs, Gladys Knight and Jerry Butler, and siblings Mable (“Your Good Thing is About to End”), Mertis, Ernest and Raymond will reveal Willie’s early years in Detroit’s North End.

Enjoy his timeless music and stay tuned to this page for the latest news about the Little Willie John Book Project, and his final recordings.You can Listen to Little Willie John songs at Pandora.com