Little Milton, who just died at age 70, was deep soul. Chess Records recording artist, 60s r&b/blues singer and guitarist Milton Campbell, Jr. had a singularly rich and expressive voice, and delivery.

He did more covers than originals, but it hardly mattered. In an age when blues has become commoditized, Little Milton - born September 7, 1934 in Inverness, Mississippi - was a true original. He just HAD it, and one listen to his rendition of Titus Turner's "Grits Ain't Groceries," will show you, as Milton sings this honky-tonk standard like no one before or since:

If I don't love you, baby

grits ain't groceries

eggs ain't poultry

and Mona Lisa was a man

I'll quote from the re-issue liner notes by Bob Schnieders to "Little Milton Sings Big Blues" (Chess, 1966):

Milton Campbell's early musical influences came from the church choir and gospel groups he belonged to as a boy. Self-taught on guitar, he was woking juke joints and honky tonks around the Memphis area as a teenager; his first recordings were made in the early fifties with Ike Turner's band for the legendary Sun label.

Rolling Stone's article has more:

Blues Hall of Famer Little Milton, who combined the tough electric blues sound of the early 1950s with the punchy, showtime arrangements of R&B, soul and funk, died in Memphis yesterday (August 4) of complications from two recent strokes. He was seventy....As a child he was enthralled with the local guitarists who played at his stepfather's house parties. "I'd be tucked in bed," he once recalled, "but the minute that the guy would hit the guitar, they'd look around and I'd be standing there, little long drawers on."

....Moving from Sun through a succession of iconic labels, including Chess and Stax, Milton grew into a formidable figure in his own right. He scored his first hit, "I'm a Lonely Man," for St. Louis-based Bobbin Records in 1958. His biggest success, the brassy, soulful "We're Gonna Make It" -- a song that became associated with the civil rights movement -- was a Number One hit on the R&B chart in 1965, reaching Number Twenty-five on the pop chart. Milton's emotive take on Willie Dixon's "I Can't Quit You Baby" is said to have inspired Led Zeppelin's own version......

An appearance in the 1973 concert film Wattstax -- his song "Walking the Back Streets and Crying" was included on the soundtrack album -- helped introduce Milton to a new generation of listeners.

Other high points for Little Milton, as least in my opinion, were his recordings of Lowell Fulson's "Reconsider, Baby"; James Brown's "Please, Please Please"; plus "Feel So Bad," and "So Mean To Me."

The two Little Milton recordings I have are "Little Milton Sings Big Blues" (Chess); and "Little Milton: His Greatest Hits" (Chess). They're well worth owning.

Little Milton's performance at the Chicago Blues Festival in the late 80s was one for the ages. I still have a treasured tape of it, thanks to a live broadcast. Milton was in his prime before an appreciate, huge Grant Park audience in a great setting - just back across Lake Shore Drive from the shores of Lake Michigan, with the city's impressive skyline looming only blocks west. Great singing, tight band, stinging guitar - the best of the blues. Having heard so many other performers half-steppin' it through the Chicago Blues Festival over the years, and in North Side Chicago blues clubs, I was blown away. After a long career with many ups and downs, Little Milton put everything he had into that show, in front of a huge crowd, and he OWNED them.

Rest In Peace, Little Milton.

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Posted by Matt Rosenberg at August 5, 2005 07:37 PM