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He may not be a household name, but die-hard blues fans know Little Milton as a superb all-around electric bluesman � a soulful singer, an evocative guitarist, an accomplished songwriter, and a skillful bandleader. He's often compared to the legendary B.B. King � as well as Bobby "Blue" Bland � for the way his signature style combines soul, blues, and R&B, a mixture that helped make him one of the biggest-selling bluesmen of the '60s (even if he's not as well-remembered as King). As time progressed, his music grew more and more orchestrated, with strings and horns galore. He maintained a steadily active recording career all the way from his 1953 debut on Sam Phillips' legendary Sun label, with his stunning longevity including notable stints at Chess (where he found his greatest commercial success), Stax, and Malaco.
James Milton Campbell was born September 7, 1934, in the small Delta town of Inverness, MS, and grew up in Greenville. (He would later legally drop the "James" after learning of a half-brother with the same name.) His father Big Milton, a farmer, was a local blues musician, and Milton also grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry radio program. At age 12, he began playing the guitar and saved up money from odd jobs to buy his own instrument from a mail-order catalog. By 15, he was performing for pay in local clubs and bars, influenced chiefly by T-Bone Walker but also by proto-rock & roll jump blues shouters. He made a substantial impression on other area musicians, even getting a chance to back Sonny Boy Williamson II, and caught the attention of R&B great Ike Turner, who was doubling as a talent scout for Sam Phillips at Sun. Turner introduced the still-teenaged Little Milton to Phillips, who signed him to a contract in 1953. With Turner's band backing him, Milton's Sun sides tried a little bit of everything � he hadn't developed a signature style as of yet, but he did have a boundless youthful energy that made these early recordings some of his most exciting and rewarding. Unfortunately, none of them were hits, and Milton's association with Sun was over by the end of 1954. He set about forming his own band, which waxed one single for the small Meteor label in 1957, before picking up and moving to St. Louis in 1958.
In St. Louis, Milton befriended DJ Bob Lyons, who helped him record a demo in a bid to land a deal on Mercury. The label passed, and the two set up their own label, christened Bobbin. Little Milton's Bobbin singles finally started to attract some more widespread attention, particularly "I'm a Lonely Man," which sold 60,000 copies despite being the very first release on a small label. As head of A&R, Milton brought artists like Albert King and Fontella Bass into the Bobbin fold, and with such a high roster caliber, the label soon struck a distribution arrangement with the legendary Chess Records. Milton himself switched over to the Chess subsidiary Checker in 1961, and it was there that he would settle on his trademark soul-inflected, B.B. King-influenced style. Initially a moderate success, Milton had his big breakthrough with 1965's "We're Gonna Make It," which hit number one on the R&B charts thanks to its resonance with the civil rights movement. "We're Gonna Make It" kicked off a successful string of R&B chart singles that occasionally reached the Top Ten, highlighted by "Who's Cheating Who?," "Grits Ain't Groceries," "If Walls Could Talk," "Baby I Love You," and "Feel So Bad," among others.
The death of Leonard Chess in 1969 threw his label into disarray, and Little Milton eventually left Checker in 1971 and signed with the Memphis-based soul label Stax (also the home of his former prot�g� Albert King). At Stax, Milton began expanding his studio sound, adding bigger horn and string sections and spotlighting his soulful vocals more than traditional blues. Further hits followed in songs like "Annie Mae's Cafe," "Little Bluebird," "That's What Love Will Make You Do," and "Walkin' the Back Streets and Cryin'," but generally not with the same magnitude of old. Stax went bankrupt in 1975, upon which point Little Milton moved to the TK/Glades label, which was better known for its funk and disco acts. His recordings there were full-blown crossover affairs, which made "Friend of Mine" a minor success, but that label soon went out of business as well. Milton spent some time in limbo; he recorded one album for MCA in 1983 called Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number, and the following year found a home with Malaco, which sustained the careers of quite a few old-school Southern soul and blues artists. During his tenure at Malaco, Milton debuted the song that would become his latter-day anthem, the bar band staple "The Blues Is Alright," which was also widely popular with European blues fans. Milton recorded frequently and steadily for Malaco, issuing 13 albums under their aegis by the end of the millennium. In 1988, he won the W.C. Handy Award for Blues Entertainer of the Year, and was also inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. He died August 4, 2005, in Memphis, TN.
-- Steve Huey of All Music Guide.
We're Gonna Make It |
01. We're Gonna Make It 02. If Walls Could Talk 03. So Mean To Me 04. Let Me Down Easy 05. Blind Man |
06. Feel So Bad 07. Man Loves Two 08. Let's Get Together 09. You're Welcome To The Club 10. Blues In The Night |
01. Feel So Bad 02. Reconsider Baby 03. Stormy Monday 04. Woke Up This Morning 05. Hard Luck Blues 06. Please, Please, Please |
07. Sweet Sixteen 08. Fever 09. Sneaking Around 10. Don't Deceive Me 11. Have Mercy Baby 12. Part Time Love |
01. If Walls Could Talk 02. Baby I Love You 03. Let's Get Together 04. The Things I Used To Do 05. Kansas City 06. Poor Man's Song |
07. Blues Get Off My Shoulder 08. I Play Dirty 09. Good To Me As I Am To You 10. Your Precious Love 11. I Don't Know |
01. Let Me Down Easy 02. Grits Ain't Groceries 03. Blind Man |
04. I Can't Quit You Baby 05. That's What Love Will Make You Do 06. Walking The Back Streets And Crying |
01. It's Amazing 02. Who Can Handle Me Is You 03. Woman, You Don't Have To Be So Cold 04. The Thrill Is Gone |
05. That's How Strong My Love Is 06. What It Is 07. Little Bluebird |
01. Spring 02. Let Me Down Easy 03. We're Gonna Make It 04. Blind Man |
05. Tell Me It's Not True 06. That's What Love Will Make You Do 07. What It Is |
01. Woman Across The River 02. Behind Closed Doors 03. Sweet woman Of Mine 04. Worried Dreamer |
05. How Could You Do It To Me 06. You're No Good 07. 'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do 08. Hard Luck Blues |
01. If That Ain't A Reason 02. Mr. Mailman (I don't want no letter) 03. I'm Living Off The Love You Give 04. That's What Love Will Make You Do 05. I'm Gonna Cry A River 06. Rainy Day |
07. Lovin' Stick 08. Tin Pan Alley 09. Let Me Back In 10. Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson 11. If You Talk In Your Sleep 12. Packed Up And Took My Mind |
01. Friend Of Mine 02. You're Gonna Make Me Cry 03. Baby It Ain't No Way 04. Mis-Using My Love 05. Don't Turn Away |
06. It's All Bad News 07. Bring It On Back 08. Sundown/Sundown (Monologue) 09. I'm In Love with My Best Friend's Wife |
01. Walking The Back Streets And Crying 02. Before The Honeymoon 03. Somebody's Tears 04. Blue Monday 05. Married Woman |
06. Eight Men, Four Women 07. Open The Door To Your Heart 08. Letter Full Of Tears 09. Bet You I'll win |
01. The Blues Is Alright 02. How Could You Do It To Me 03. Bad Luck Is Falling 04. Chains And Things |
05. Walking The Back Streets And Crying 06. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water 07. I'm Diggin' You 08. Things Have Got To Change |
01. Age Ain't Nothing But A Number 02. Gotta Keep Our Love Alive 03. Let It Be Me 04. I Wanna Love You |
05. Don't Leave Me 06. Living On The Dark Side Of Love 07. Guess How Much I Love You 08. Why Are You So Hard To Please |
01. You're Gonna Have a Murder On Your Hands 02. Nobody's Sleeping In My Bed 03. Fishing In The Right Stream 04. I'll Catch You On Your Way Down 05. Comeback Kind Of Love |
06. The Blues Is Alright 07. Misty Blue 08. The Only Thing That Saved Me 09. Don't You Know 10. Goodnight My Love |
01. I'm At The End Of My Rainbow 02. A Real Good Woman 03. Breakaway Clean 04. Copyright On Your Love 05. Cheating Is a Risky Business |
06. Annie Mae's Caf� 07. This Must Be The Blues 08. Too Hurt To Cry 09. You're My Strongest Weakness 10. Why Can't We Be Together |
01. You Just Can't Take My Blues 02. Movin' To The Country 03. His Old Lady And My Old Lady 04. You're So Cold 05. Just Because You See Me Smilin' |
06. Room 244 07. Lovin' On Borrowed Time 08. A Possum In My Tree 09. At This Moment 10. Have You Ever Loved A woman |
01. I Was Trying Not To Break Down 02. Caught In The Act (of getting it on) 03. You Can't Trust Your Neighbor 04. Penitentiary Blues 05. I Had Too Much Heaven Last Night |
06. I Don't Believe In Ghosts 07. It's Hard To Explain 08. The End Of The Rainbow 09. Fast Young Lady 10. The Wind Beneath My wings |
01. Bad Dream 02. The Cradle Is Robbing Me 03. Still In Love With You 04. Runaway 05. The Woman I Love |
06. Your Wife Is Cheating On Us 07. Too Much Pain 08. Gonna start A Rumor 09. Count The Days |
01. Strugglin' Lady 02. My Dog And Me 03. Caf� Woman 04. Always On My Mind 05. Let Them Talk |
06. If This Ain't The Blues 07. A Nickel And A Nail 08. She Never Gets The Blues 09. I Keep Falling For You 10. Bending The Rules |
01. Casino Blues 02. I've Got The Blues 03. Poke Salad Annie 04. Like A Rooster On A Hen 05. Pledging My Love 06. Love Is A Gamble |
07. That's All Right 08. Baby Please 09. You've Been Gone Too Long 10. A Man Needs A Woman 11. That's What A Good Woman Can Do |
01. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water 02. Eight Men, Four women 03. Friend Of Mine 04. Medley: How Could You Do It To Me/etc. |
05. Bad Luck 06. You're The One 07. Loving You Is the Best Thing That Happened To Me 08. That's How Strong My Love Is |
01. Kick My Cheating Habits 02. How Does A Cheatin' Woman Feel 03. What Do You Do When You Love Somebody 04. This Time They Told The Truth 05. It's Time For The Blues |
06. It's Hard To Stumble 07. I Wouldn't Take Nothing For Your Love 08. Shake, Rattle And Roll 09. I Worry About You 10. The Other Man |
01. I Will Survive 02. I'll Catch You On Your Way Down 03. 4:59 AM 04. Jealousy 05. You Just Can't Take My Blues |
06. Penitentiary Blues 07. The End Of The Rainbow 08. Too Much Pain 09. Count The Days 10. Nobody's Sleeping In My Bed |
01. Big Boned woman 02. He Saw An Opening 03. I'd Rather Be With You 04. What Our Love Needs 05. It Hurts Me Too 06. A Rainy Night In Georgia |
07. To Love Somebody 08. Blues For Mr. �C� 09. If That's What You Wanna Do 10. I'd Rather Go Blind 11. Tear This House Down Tonight |
01. When The Blues Come Knockin' 02. Right To Sing The Blues 03. Mother Earth (recitation) 04. Mother Earth 05. Never Trust A Woman 06. Love Hurts |
07. Gimme My Broom 08. Two Loves 09. Lump On Your Stump 10. Me And My Woman 11. Some Kind Of Wonderful 12. I Can't Quit You Baby |
01. A Right To Sing The Blues 02. That's The Way I Feel About It 03. I've Got To Remember 04. I Want My Baby Back 05. Walking On Thin Ice |
06. I'm Jealous Of Her Husband 07. Angel 08. I'm Gonna Give It Up 09. You Better Change Your Ways 10. You Left A Goldmine For A Golddigger |
01. A Juke Joint In My House 02. Born Yesterday 03. If You Give Me Your Heart 04. I Gotta Get Away From You 05. Shot From The Saddle 06. Baby Let Me Rock You |
07. The Love Of A Woman 08. She Know How To Wear A Hat 09. Lovable Girl 10. You're Givin' Me The Blues 11. He's Got You 12. Lady |
01. Guitar Man 02. Take Time Out To Hear Me Some Blues 03. Still Some Meat Left On This Bone 04. Blues Tune-Up 05. I Could Have Saved Our Love 06. I Wish I Could Be Your Lover |
07. You Were On The Right street 08. The Juke Joint Is Calling Me 09. Mr. And Mrs. Untrue 10. Just One Moment 11. Whenever You Come Around 12. My Way |
01. Still Some Meat Left On This Bone 02. Just One Moment 03. I Don't Believe In Ghosts 04. Slow Blues Medley: Annie Mae's Caf�, etc. 05. I Wouldn't Take Nothing For Your Love 06. The Blues Is Alright 07. Gone For Good 08. New Man In Town 09. Thank You |
10. No More Tears 11. Pray 12. All We Need Is Love 13. Big Bee 14. Who's Gonna Be Your Sweet Man? 15. I'm Your Honeyboy 16. Life Of Ease 17. Born In Chicago 18. My Back Scratcher |
01. Gonna Find Me Somebody To Love 02. Let Your Love Rain Down On Me 03. The Blues Is My Companion 04. Something Wonderful 05. Gone With The Wind 06. I'll Be |
07. Next To You 08. Think Of Me (thinking of you) 09. Reconsider Me 10. Second Hand Love 11. Feel Like A Man 12. That's Where It's At |