"Little Bitty Pretty One" is a 1957 song written and originally recorded by Bobby Day. The same year, the song was popularized by Thurston Harris.[2] Produced by Aladdin Records (located in Los Angeles, Calif.), and featuring the Sharps on backing vocals,[3] Harris's version reached No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Best-Sellers chart and No. 2 on the R&B chart.[4] The Bobby Day version reached No. 11 in the Canadian CHUM Chart.[5]
| "Little Bitty Pretty One" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Thurston Harris and the Sharps | |
| B-side | "I Hope You Won't Hold It Against Me" |
| Released | September 1957 |
| Genre | Doo-wop[1] |
| Length | 2:22 |
| Label | Aladdin |
| Songwriter(s) | Bobby Day |
In 1991, Jacqueline Byrd, the widow of songwriter Bobby Day, told lawmakers that she had intercepted a letter addressed to her husband. The letter from the Copyright Office stated that the copyright to "Little Bitty Pretty One" was not renewed, thus ending royalty payments to Day and the song's publisher. Byrd never told her husband, who was dying of cancer, about the letter. If the song's copyright were renewed, Byrd and her four children would have received royalty payments until 2037.[6]
| "Little Bitty Pretty One" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Jackson 5 | ||||
| from the album Lookin' Through the Windows | ||||
| B-side | "If I Have to Move a Mountain" | |||
| Released | April 4, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Studio | Motown | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 2:22 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bobby Day | |||
| Producer(s) | Mel Larson, Jerry Marcellino | |||
| The Jackson 5 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception
editBryan Thomas writes that the song "has gone on to become one of the best loved oldies of the late '50s".[7]
The song is famous for its hummed opening.[8][9]
It was used in the 1983 horror film Christine, the 1989 comedy/fantasy film Little Monsters, and the 1996 comedy/fantasy film Matilda.
Cover versions
edit- Frankie Lymon reached No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1960.[10]
- Clyde McPhatter returned it to the top 40 in the US, when his recording peaked at No. 25 on the Hot 100 in 1962.[11]
- The Dave Clark 5 covered it in 1965 on their US Top 25 "Weekend in London" album
- Wayne Cochran covered it in 1967
- In 1972, the Jackson 5 included it on their album, Lookin' Through the Windows, and took the song to No. 13 on the Hot 100.[12][13] Record World praised the performance.[14]
- Screamin' Jay Hawkins covered it in 1979.
- Cliff Richard, in 1983 on his Silver album.
- Aaron Carter performed "Little Bitty Pretty One" for the 2001 Disney movie The Princess Diaries.
- In 1994, Huey Lewis and the News did their take for their album Four Chords & Several Years Ago.
- Billy Gilman did a cover in it and included it on his One Voice album in 2000.
- Fall Out Boy used an interpolation on the song "So Good Right Now" on their 2023 album So Much (for) Stardust.
"Wiggle, Wiggle"
edit"Little Bitty Pretty One" was the inspiration for the Accents' sole hit "Wiggle Wiggle" in 1958, and though the similarities were evidently not sufficient to warrant a lawsuit, Aladdin Records took the expedient step of covering the song with a group called the Chestnuts.
References
edit- ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 429. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
- ^ Dave Marsh, The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made (Da Capo Press, 1999), 429.
- ^ The Lamplighters at Allmusic
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 246.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - November 18, 1957".
- ^ "Bush Likely to OK Bill That Would Renew All Pre-1978 Copyrights." Billboard 20 June 1992.
- ^ Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, John Bush, and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul (Backbeat Books, 2003), p. 297.
- ^ Otfinoski, Steven (December 30, 1997). The Golden Age of Rock Instrumentals. Billboard Books. ISBN 9780823076390 – via Google Books.
- ^ Gillett, Charlie (May 1, 2011). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll. Souvenir Press. ISBN 9780285640245 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Frankie Lymon - Chart history". Billboard. 1960-08-20. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles (12th ed.). p. 645.
- ^ Soulsation! (1995), liner notes
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles (12th ed.). p. 482.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. April 15, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
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