Tony Smith

From The Chicago Sun-Times: Little Milton Campbell worked with Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tenn., and the Chess brothers in Chicago early in his career, so he knew many legends of rock 'n' roll and blues. One thing always bothered him, though. "Elvis [Presley] was called 'The King,' " he said in an interview last fall. "Why couldn't they have called Fats Domino or Little Richard 'The King of Rock 'n' Roll'? And mainly Ike Turner -- he played on the first rock 'n' roll song, 'Rocket 88.' " Little Milton was never afraid to point out what he perceived as injustices in the music industry, right up until his death Thursday in Memphis at age 70. Well-known on chitlin' circuit But unlike other artists who used the inequities as excuses, Mr. Campbell persevered, working to expand his fan base beyond the black nightclubs of the South. His last album, "Think of Me," released in May on Telarc International, marked an attempt to "cross over" into the pop market while returning to his classic soul-blues sound of the 1960s and '70s. Mr. Campbell died in the Delta Medical Center in Memphis. He'd had a massive stroke on July 27 and his condition worsened last weekend. He slipped into a coma on Wednesday. He was well-known on the chitlin' circuit of the upper Delta region but also had many followers in Chicago, his home for nearly 30 years, with earlier stopovers in East St. Louis and Clarksdale, Miss. Mr. Campbell moved to Las Vegas when he left Chicago in the late '80s but also maintained a residence in Memphis. The son of Mississippi sharecropper and bluesman Big Milton, Mr. Campbell left home in his early teens, making his way to Helena, Ark. "I was looking for a better way of life," he said. "I knew there had to be a better way to make a living than picking or chopping cotton." In Helena, he became a protege of harmonica kingpin Sonny Boy Williamson. He moved on to East St. Louis on the advice of Turner, who had recommended him to Phillips at Sun Records. His first hit, "I'm a Lonely Man," came on the Bobbin label. Then Mr. Campbell switched to Checker, a subsidiary of Chicago's Chess Records, in 1961, where he recorded such hits as "We're Gonna Make It," "Grits Ain't Groceries" and the anthem "Hey, Hey, the Blues Is Alright." His horn-driven sound rarely stuck to the classic 12-bar blues structure, making it harder to market him to white blues fans. A nearly two-decade stint with Malaco Records that preceded the Telarc signing brought continued popularity with soul lovers but inhibited his crossover dreams. Music resonated with audiences Jon Tiven, who co-produced, co-wrote and played on the final Little Milton disc, said, "Milton didn't have a gimmick, he was just about the music. . . . He did extraordinarily well in navigating the music industry by himself without a huge organization to help him out. I rank him right up there with B.B. King and Buddy Guy as the epitome of what the blues is." Chicago soul singer Otis Clay, who befriended Mr. Campbell 40 years ago, "when we were young men, chasing our dreams," took the news of his passing particularly hard because he is still mourning the loss of another local soul-blues great, Tyrone Davis. Clay said he was looking forward to an Aug. 28 booking with Little Milton in Milwaukee. "We were going to go crazy together backstage," he said. Mr. Campbell's music resonated with audiences, Clay said, because it "got you through whatever problems you had at the time, whether it was with money or your woman or whatever." Mr. Campbell is survived by his wife, Patricia, and several children. Funeral services were pending.

Would that be "Grooving-al-la-Go-Go", excellent fanzine with a column written by yours truly

P.S. stands for Paul Serrano (label owner) out of Chicago other release is Dynamic Heartbeats "It Ain't No Secret", rarer than MET but, not that rare overall.

Gillys' copy looked fairly worn though it played well, didn't look as if it was after MM release definately had a mid-60's look to it and don't think Micks' is the same one. blue and silver as opposed to green on white.

It most certainly was He was also playing Shirley Edwards on Shrine around the same time C/U as Rita & Tiaras

Jackson Brothers played by Keb 1985 as Rufus Lumley "Someone Told Me" at Stafford and elsewhere.

True, true

Not that rare IMO, had one off Ady Pountain for a fiver years ago, just a case of demand outstripping available quantity.

Yes, I shall be there to play a few tunes.

No idea, it was a very, very long time ago.

He used to play it years ago, same backing, different lyrics, an advert for headache tablets!

Butch has the original acetate which is far from poor and scratchy!

And me too!!

They sound like Atlantic test presses.(when they were distributed by Warners in the 70's)

It was by Leo Co. on a 12" from Europe somewhere!

It was a tape sound about 20 years ago...drone, drone, drone.......and was a £15-20 sound for most of that time, can't understand why anyone would want to pay 200 for an average semi-instrumental-nice looking label though- one for the shelf, really.

They were definately legit represses, I remember Pete Lawson buying them direct from Jamie/Guyden.

Yes, excellent uptempo number "Gotta Get Away" credited to the Embracers and it's a hell of a lot rarer than YCIML

The Tempos

Here we go...... Resist 507 Wilbur Reynolds featuring Jimmie Lee "Who'll Cry"/"Sweet'n", C/U as Carole Waller CB (Yellow) Wilbur Reynolds "Sweet'n"/"Tenderizer", C/U as Benny Curtis "Sweet Thing" both at Stafford. CB (Red) Wilbur Reynolds "Tenderizer"/ can't remember this side but, it's shit anyway. that should clear things up.

The male version of "Sweet'n", is by Wilbur Reynolds on C.B. (yellow label is the one to get), Jimmie Lee is the vocalist on the Resist version!

2nd copy this month on Ebay, and 4th I've seen for sale this year......how rare is that?

On reflection, maybe not that "white", but more than a passing resemblance to the Furys or, the Showmen.

Yeh, I remember, it was a good couple of nights mate

Not too bad, I suspect they may be white boys. Chalky might have a sound file.