Little Willie Littlefield
b. 16 September 1931, El Campo, Texas, USA. By the age of 16, Littlefield was emulating his hero Amos Milburn, shouting the blues and hammering the pianos of nearby Houston's Dowling Street clubs. He made his recording debut the following year for the local Eddie's Records and for the Freedom label. In August 1949, Littlefield was discovered by the Bihari brothers, who had flown to Houston to find their own version of Aladdin's Amos Milburn, and signed him to their Los Angeles-based Modern label. Littlefield's first Modern session, recorded in Houston, resulted in the huge hit It's Midnight which featured his school friend, Don Wilkerson, on tenor saxophone. From October 1949, Littlefield was recording in Los Angeles, but subsequent releases did not match the promise of the debut single, in spite of bands which included Jimmy ‘Maxwell Street’ Davis, Chuck Norris and Johnny Moore. In 1952, Littlefield signed with Federal Records and continued to make fine records in his own right and in duets with Lil Greenwood and Little Esther Phillips. His first Federal session resulted in his best-known recording, K.C. Lovin' which was later altered slightly by Leiber And Stoller and recorded by Wilbert Harrison as Kansas City. By 1957, Littlefield had moved to northern California, where he recorded for the Rhythm label. He stayed in San José throughout the '60s and '70s, making the occasional club appearance, but in the early '80s he moved with his family to the Netherlands and has since experienced a minor comeback with new material on various European labels and frequent appearances at jazz and blues festivals.