Little Milton

Little Milton (1982)

Little Milton (born September 7, 1934 in Inverness , Mississippi , † August 4, 2005 in Memphis , Tennessee ), actually Milton Campbell, Jr. , was an American blues guitarist and singer. His best-known hits include Grits Ain't Groceries and We're Going To Make It .

Career

Little Milton's musical role models were T-Bone Walker , BB King , Roy Brown and Big Joe Turner . He made his first recordings at Sun Records with the support of Ike Turner and his band. In 1958 he moved to St. Louis , where he built up the Bobbin label with Oliver Sain , to which Albert King was under contract.

In 1961 he signed with Checker, an offshoot of Chess Records . Over the next 9 years, he recorded over 100 tracks, some of which became top ten hits. Who's Cheating Who? even reached the top of the R&B charts. In 1971 Little Milton moved to Stax Records . His style changed, he worked with strings and the Memphis Horns, with "Big" Joe Turner and Willie "Too Big" Hall.

In 1988 Little Milton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame .

From 1984 to 2004 Little Milton was under contract with the southern soul label Malaco. There he had a hit with "The Blues is Alright" on the Chitlin 'Circuit , the R&B club scene of the southern United States; it was also awarded the Prix ​​Big Bill Broonzy . The album "Welcome to Little Milton" mainly combines duets with rock and blues artists such as Lucinda Williams, Delbert McClinton, Peter Wolf (ex-J.Geils Band) and Keb Mo ' . At Malaco he has mainly produced good albums in the soul-blues style of the south. Some of them were also recorded in the famous Muscle Shoals Studios.

In 2005 he released a CD on Telarc called "Think of Me", produced by Jon Tiven, a good album in the classic soul-blues style of the southern states, spiced with elements of sixties music.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	R&B
1965	We're gonna make it	US101 (14 weeks) US	R&B3 (11 weeks) R&B
1969	Grits ain't groceries	US159 (7 weeks) US	R&B41 (3 weeks) R&B
1970	If Walls Could Talk	US197 (2 weeks) US	R&B23 (11 weeks) R&B
1973	Waiting for Little Milton	-	R&B39 (15 weeks) R&B
1974	Blues 'n' Soul	-	R&B45 (8 weeks) R&B
1976	Friend of Mine	-	R&B50 (2 weeks) R&B
1983	Age Ain't Nothin 'But a Number	-	R&B53 (8 weeks) R&B
1984	Playing for Keeps	-	R&B55 (18 weeks) R&B
1988	Back to back	-	R&B73 (17 weeks) R&B
1990	Too Much Pain	-	R&B40 (29 weeks) R&B
1991	Reality	-	R&B57 (16 weeks) R&B
1992	Strugglin 'lady	-	R&B63 (7 weeks) R&B

More albums

• 1966: Sings Big Blues
• 1973: What It Is: Live at Montreux
• 1975: Tin Pan Alley
• 1977: Me For You, You For Me
• 1981: Walkin 'the Back Streets
• 1982: The Blues Is Alright
• 1985: I Will Survive
• 1986: Annie Mae's Cafe
• 1987: Movin 'to the Country
• 1991: I Need Your Love So Bad
• 1994: I'm a Gambler
• 1995: Live at Westville Prison
• 1996: Cheatin 'Habit
• 1997: Count the Days
• 1998: For Real
• 1999: Welcome to Little Milton
• 2001: Feel It
• 2002: Guitar Man
• 2004: The Blues Is Alright: Live at Kalamazoo
• 2005: Think of Me
• 2006: Live at the North Atlantic Blues Festival: His Last Concert

Compilations

• 1972: Greatest Hits
• 1990: Sun Masters
• 1994: Welcome to the Club: The Essential Chess Recordings
• 1994: The Complete Stax Singles
• 1995: Stand By Me: The Blues Collection
• 1995: Greatest Hits
• 1996: Rockin 'the Blues
• 1997: Greatest Hits (The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection)
• 1997: Count the Days
• 1998: Chess Blues Guitar: Two Decades of Killer Fretwork
• 2001: The Complete Checker Hit Singles
• 2002: Anthology 1953-1961
• 2006: Running Wild Blues
• 2006: Stax Profiles
• 2007: The Very Best of Little Milton

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	R&B
1962	So mean to me	-	R&B14 (5 weeks) R&B
1964	What Kind Of Love Is This	-	R&B39 (5 weeks) R&B
1965	Blind Man We're Gonna Make It	US86 (4 weeks) US	R&B14 (6 weeks) R&B
	We're Gonna Make It We're Gonna Make It	US25 (11 weeks) US	R&B1 (15 weeks) R&B
	Who's Cheating Who? We're gonna make it	US43 (7 weeks) US	R&B4 (10 weeks) R&B
1966	Man Loves Two	-	R&B45 (2 weeks) R&B
	We Got the Winning Hand	US100 (1 week) US	-
1967	Feel So Bad Sings Big Blues	US91 (3 weeks) US	R&B7 (15 weeks) R&B
	I'll never turn my back on you	-	R&B31 (4 weeks) R&B
1968	Let me down easy	-	R&B27 (11 weeks) R&B
	More and more	-	R&B45 (5 weeks) R&B
1969	Grits Ain't Groceries Grits Ain't Groceries	US73 (5 weeks) US	R&B13 (8 weeks) R&B
	Just a Little Bit Grits Ain't Groceries	US97 (2 weeks) US	R&B13 (8 weeks) R&B
	Let's Get Together If Walls Could Talk	-	R&B13 (9 weeks) R&B
	Poor Man If Walls Could Talk	-	R&B18 (7 weeks) R&B
1970	Baby, I Love You If Walls Could Talk	US82 (3 weeks) US	R&B6 (9 weeks) R&B
	If Walls Could Talk If Walls Could Talk	US71 (5 weeks) US	R&B10 (11 weeks) R&B
	Somebody's Changin 'My Sweet Baby's Mind	-	R&B22 (5 weeks) R&B
1971	I Play Dirty If Walls Could Talk	-	R&B37 (3 weeks) R&B
	If that ain't a reason	-	R&B41 (2 weeks) R&B
1972	That's What Love Will Make You Do	US59 (6 weeks) US	R&B9 (9 weeks) R&B
1973	What It Is Waiting For Little Milton	-	R&B51 (9 weeks) R&B
1974	Behind closed doors	-	R&B31 (12 weeks) R&B
	Tin Pan Alley	-	R&B51 (11 weeks) R&B
	Let me back in	-	R&B38 (11 weeks) R&B
1975	If You Talk In Your Sleep	-	R&B34 (13 weeks) R&B
1976	Friend of Mine Friend of Mine	-	R&B15 (13 weeks) R&B
1976	Baby, It Ain't No Way Friend of Mine	-	R&B94 (2 weeks) R&B
	Loving you	-	R&B47 (12 weeks) R&B
	Just One Step Me For You, You For Me	-	R&B59 (11 weeks) R&B
1983	Age Ain't Nothin 'But a Number Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number	-	R&B89 (4 weeks) R&B

Web links

• Literature by and about Little Milton in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ For the recordings for Sun Records see: Escott, Colin / Hawkins, Martin: Good Rockin 'Tonight. Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll . New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991, pp. 49-51
2. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: US