Little Willy (song)
"Little Willy" is a song written by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and performed by the British glam rock band The Sweet, released in 1972 as a non-album single in the UK, peaking at #4 in the best seller charts. It was released in the US in September 1972[6] and also appeared on their US debut album The Sweet and became their biggest hit in the US, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7] Billboard ranked it as the No. 18 song for 1973.
"Little Willy" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Sweet | ||||
from the album The Sweet | ||||
B-side | "Man from Mecca" | |||
Released | 19 May 1972 (UK) September 1972 (US) | |||
Recorded | 1972 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:13 | |||
Label | RCA (UK) Bell (US & Canada)[5] | |||
Songwriter(s) | Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman | |||
Producer(s) | Phil Wainman | |||
The Sweet singles chronology | ||||
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In a retrospective review of glitter rock, Bomp! noted that although rock music journalists almost uniformly "loathed it", the song was a huge commercial success and "helped launch the essential glitter rock formula sound".[8]
"Little Willy" was used extensively in the pilot of the television series Life on Mars.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
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Personnel
"Little Willy"
- Brian Connolly - lead vocals
- Andy Scott - backing vocals
- Steve Priest - backing vocals
- Mick Tucker - backing vocals
- Pip Williams - guitar
- John Roberts - bass guitar
- Phil Wainman - drums, timbales
"Man from Mecca"
- Brian Connolly - lead vocals
- Andy Scott - backing vocals, guitar
- Steve Priest - backing vocals, bass guitar
- Mick Tucker - backing vocals, drums
Cover versions
- Finnish singer Kirka sang a Finnish version called Pikku veli.
- U.S. glam metal band Poison recorded a cover version of "Little Willy" on their album Poison'd!
- Bob Rivers recorded a parody called "Little Billy's Willy", about President Bill Clinton and the Lewinsky scandal.
References
- Popoff, Martin (2014). The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal?s Debauched Decade. Voyageur Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-62788-375-7.
- Sendra, Tim. "Golden Groups & Glitter Sounds - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- Cantwell, David (4 November 1998). "Power Pop It Ain't". MTV News. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sweet | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- "The Sweet - Little Willy". Discogs. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- Little Willy / Man from Mecca (US) - 45cat
- "Little Willy by Sweet". Songfacts. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- Barnes, Ken (March 1978). "The Glitter Era: Teenage Rampage". Bomp!. Retrieved 25 January 2019 – via Rock's Backpages.
- http://www.dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp%3Fcat%3Ds&prev=search
- http://www.dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp%3Fcat%3Ds&prev=search
- "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- http://www.dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp%3Fcat%3Ds&prev=search
- "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- http://www.dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp%3Fcat%3Ds&prev=search
- "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- http://www.dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp%3Fcat%3Ds&prev=search
- "UK Official Charts". Official Charts Company. 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- "Hot 100: The Sweet". Billboard. 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- Canada, Library and Archives (December 26, 2017). "Image : RPM Weekly".
- "Top Selling Singles for 1973". Sounds. London, England: Spotlight Publications: 4. 5 January 1974.
- "Top 100 Hits of 1973/Top 100 Songs of 1973". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 20 October 2015.