Fever: Little Willie John: A Fast Life, Mysterious Death, and the Birth of Soul

In all honesty I knew Little Willie John better for other people's versions of his earlier hits (Peggy Lee's 'Fever', Peter Green's 'Need Your Love So Bad', Little Milton's 'Grit's Ain't Groceries) than I did for his own work. On reading this very accessible book (read in one day) I understand more about his meteoric rise to fame, if not fortune. Understandably, since most of those interviewed are family and friends, it's stronger on his rise than on his fall to drug and alcohol dependency. There are echoes of the careers of Frankie Lymon and Sam Cooke too. Well worth buying if your interested in the birth of soul music.

I bought 2 copies of this as gifts and both of the recipients loved it. An excellent read. Both were very enthusiastic and enjopyed it greatly.

very good

Having been a lifelong Little Willie John fan since I first heard his songs on Philadelphia radio as a kid, I've always found it extremely difficult to find information on him beyond album liner notes and what little is written online. This book, the first ever written on Little Willie John despite his passing over 43 years ago, was long overdue! Susan Whitall does an astonishing job in presenting Willie John's humble beginnings, his rise to fame, and his tragic downfall.Some of the more fascinating bits of information in this book include Willie John's importance as an on-stage performer whose dance moves influenced artists such as James Brown and Joe Tex (since no footage exists today of LWJ performing, I had no idea that was part of his legacy), his emulation of Frank Sinatra whose music he not only loved but even fashioned his look after, the artistic rivalry he had with Jackie Wilson & James Brown, a rift between him and Jimi Hendrix owing to a woman they both dated, how Elvis Presley was so awestruck by his recording of 'She Thinks I Still Care' that he framed LWJ's record and hung it on his wall in Graceland, his lifelong friendship with childhood pal Levi Stubbs who would later become the phenomenal lead vocalist with The Four Tops, and his mysterious, highly suspicious death in prison at the age of 30.The book also does a masterful job in creating the climate of times that Willie came up in; the early 1950's, when on a given night in Detroit you could see and hear Clyde McPhatter performing with Billy Ward & The Dominoes, or Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers, or an amateur contest with "unknown artists" such as Little Willie John and Levi Stubbs.I've had the great fortune to speak to Willie's son, Kevin, several times over the past few years, and knowing that he spent quite a bit of time with Miss Whitall to assist with this book gives it an extra credibility that is sometimes missing from other books about artists from bygone eras.One thing diehard Little Willie John fans (such as myself) will be interested in reading is the story behind Willie's final recordings from 1966, and why they stayed in the vaults for over 4 decades. If you're only familiar with his 1950's & early 1960's recordings, this album (finally released in 2008 as  Nineteen Sixty Six: The David Axelrod & HB Barnum Sessions ) is nothing short of a revelation. It was an amazingly progressive step forward for Willie as an artist - musically and vocally - and has an intensity to it that will give you another level of appreciation for his seemingly endless artistic abilities.If there's one person in this book other than Willie John that I think readers will come away with an enormous respect for its Willie John's wife/widow, Darlynn. Her love for Willie and her 2 boys (Kevin and Keith) comes through loud and clear. She never once gave up on Willie through his all trials and tribulations, and never stopped doing all she could to support him. After his death, she took on the unimaginably difficult task of raising 2 boys as a single mother in Detroit at a time that was already extremely turbulent (the late 1960's/1970's).I've long believed that Little Willie John was, and remains, in the top 5 greatest vocalists in the history of recorded music. Even among his peers, no one sounded anything like him - then or now. This book does a fantastic job in describing Little Willie John's short life and his enormous gift as a vocalist & artist. Hopefully, it will bring Little Willie John's unsurpassed musical legacy to a much wider audience. Nineteen Sixty Six: The David Axelrod & HB Barnum Sessions

How many readers know that Little Willie John is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? His life was cut short so we will never know the total contributions he might have made. What we do have is a body of music and now a biography of startling detail that takes you to the streets of Detroit, the studio of his record company, and the concert stages where he performed. The author has interviewed numerous celebrities who knew Little Willie John in person to tell the story of one of the great R&B singers of the 20th Century. Even if you are unfamiliar with Little Willie John the stories of his life and the history of R&B music-making in America make it well worth the read.