Little Willie Littlefield, "Kansas City (K. C. Loving)" c/w "The Midnight Hour Was Shining," Federal 45-12351 (tracks from 1952-53; released 3/1959)

 

"Kansas City" is one of those songs everyone seems to know. Via the hit 1959 revival by Wilbert Harrison and The Beatles' inclusion in a 1964 medley derived from a Little Richard mash-up, this 12-bar blues with a jaunty rhythm is one of the iconic songs of the 20th century. Its composers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, were LA-based white Jewish boys with a love of Black music and culture. They influenced the course of Black music through their often-witty and adventurous songs. As producers, their utter respect of the artists was unusual but influential.
    In 1952, the duo, not yet in their 20s, wrote, wrote, wrote and learned the art of music production. Over time they became as exacting as Burt Bacharach or George Martin: they knew what they wanted and evoked the best from their performers, arrangers and session musicians. Had Elvis Presley's corrupt manager not been an anti-Semite, Leiber and Stoller could have guided this icon's career, steered him away from those horrid formula movies and sustained his potency as a leader of men and women in popular music.
    Hard knocks and great successes peppered L&S' shared career. In 1952, they penned "K. C. Loving" in the style of Big Joe Turner, an artist both admired. Via a connection with King Records' top producer Ralph Bass, they were introduced to singer-pianist Willie Littlefield. They taught him the song, which innovated the 12-bar blues form with a distinctive melody, at the home of saxophonist/arranger Maxwell Davis and Bass arranged a recording session in LA. Davis' elegant sax is heard on this side, which wasn't a major hit on its first go-round, but became a staple of live acts through the 1950s.
    When one encounters such an ubiquitous song--something so well-known it becomes abstract--it's enlightening to visit the first version. On first listen, it sounds not much like the average 1952 rhythm and blues recording. The beat is much like rock 'n' roll yet to come. Maxwell Davis' arrangement is open, easy-going and benefits from his playful sax asides. I believe some reverb was added to this 1959 reissue, but otherwise it's unaltered from the '52 original.
    The jazz-related sound of post-war rhythm and blues began to change in 1951. This record is an important leap forward into what we now recognize as the classic 1950s sound. It would remain the sound of Black music into the early 1960s, as pop influences and other Black music communities (Detroit in particular) altered its style, record by record, week by week.
    Wilbert Harrison is a favorite performer here, but "Kansas City" is the weak link in his discography. His version simplifies the lyrics in spots but hews to a similar arrangement. The guy deserved a hit; he most deserved a hit with his own fine material. Post-"Kansas City," Harrison became a slave to that hit. Many of his follow-up songs are patterned on Leiber and Stoller's 1952 work and suffer because of that imitation. This wasn't the first time, nor the last, that a promising performer's quality took a hit after a hit. Small wonder that Cash Box would forget where the song came from in the wake of Wilbert's success...

Cash Box didn't review either of these sides when they were new in 1952 and '53 and, by 1959, forgot that Little Willie's rendition was the first. They considered it just another cash-in competing version of Wilbert Harrison's biggest hit. Apologies for scrunched review; that's the surviving copy of record.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9i30picq82zko5stm8no0/2207a.mp3?rlkey=9wyqm3hipb14lsrgnr97hugjv&st=nagmf9bz&dl=0

"The Midnight Hour Was Shining," penned by the singer, comes from a 1953 single and was an adventurous B-side choice. A churning sound suggestive of New Orleans flavors this busy blues. There's a LOT going on here: Littlefield's pounding piano, a noodlin' doodlin' guitar man, brass and woodwinds threaten to engulf the singer-songwriter as he wails a plea for a wayward lover to return.
    A louche sax delivers a laid-back bluesy solo amidst this brick wall of sound. One second longer than "Kansas City," it feels like something from five years earlier. Littlefield's voice isn't well-served on this side, but it's no throwaway.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/p0kqcbwyxwthvxgj9o0ww/2207b.mp3?rlkey=a2qm5n77btk3bpgp1dtc3wolk&st=mibo5ami&dl=0

Willie Littlefield made many singles and his career spanned several decades. He retired in 2000, but got sick of sitting at home. He now lived in Europe, and toured the continent to adoring audiences for the rest of his days. He passed on in the Netherlands in 2013--a minor figure, chart-wise but beloved by r&b fans.

Tomorrow: Ivory Joe Hunter attempts to go pop-soul on a rare 1961 Capitol Records release. One of those "huh?" records that's better than it has any right to be.