At the end of the June, TITAN BOOKS are releasing ‘Fever’, the first-ever official biography of LITTLE WILLIE JOHN. A charismatic performer, JOHN sang with passion and soul in all kinds of styles – blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and ballads. His sound and style inspired a generation of musicians and he can be rightly called one of soul’s founding fathers. Witness MARVIN GAYE’S summation – “Little Willie John was the soul singer’s soul singer.”
WILLIE was also JAMES BROWN’S favourite singer and STEVIE WONDER (who provides the book’s foreword) recounts, “My mother told me, if you call yourself ‘Little’ Stevie Wonder, you’d better be as good as Little Willie John”.
The book’s author is acclaimed music journalist and sometime editor of Creem, SUSAN WHITALL and she covers all the bases of the singer’s hectic life and strange death at the age of just 30.