Just a Little Bit (Rosco Gordon song)

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"Just a Little Bit"
R&B
Length2:05
LabelVee-Jay
Songwriter(s)Disputed
Rosco Gordon singles chronology
"A Fool in Love"
(1959) 		"Just a Little Bit"
(1959) 		"Surely I Love You"
(1960)

"Just a Little Bit" is an R&B-style blues song recorded by Rosco Gordon in 1959. It was a hit in both the R&B and pop charts. Called "one of the standards of contemporary blues,"[1] "Just a Little Bit" has been recorded by various other artists, including Little Milton and Roy Head, who also had record chart successes with the song.

Background

"Just a Little Bit" was developed when Rosco Gordon was touring with

King Records, who was reportedly uninterested in the song.[2] Gordon then approached Calvin Carter at Vee-Jay Records
, who agreed to record it.

Meanwhile, Federal Records, a King Records subsidiary, released a version of "Just a Little Bit" by R&B singer Tiny Topsy,[3] with songwriting credit given to Ralph Bass and several others unknown to Gordon.[2] The Tiny Topsy song, featuring a pop-style arrangement with background singers and flute, did not reach the record charts.[4]

Rosco Gordon song

Rosco Gordon's "Just a Little Bit" was released in late 1959 and entered the

Billboard R&B chart in February 1960. An early review described the song as "a rhymba [rhumba] blues",[5] a reference to Gordon's "slightly shambolic, loping style of piano shuffle called 'Rosco's Rhythm'".[6] The original Vee-Jay single lists Gordon as the songwriter, although some later issues (and versions by other artists) list Bass and others as the writers.[7]

"Just a Little Bit" was Rosco Gordon's fourth (and last) single to enter the R&B chart, where it reached number two during a stay of seventeen weeks in 1960.

Hot 100
at number 64, making it Gordon's only song to enter the broader chart.

Renditions and influence

Several musicians have recorded "Just a Little Bit". In 1965, a version by American singer Roy Head reached numbers 39 on the Hot 100[9] and 18 on the Canadian singles chart.[10] When soul blues artist Little Milton recorded it in 1969, it peaked at number 13 on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides chart and number 97 on the Hot 100.[11]

According to music writer

"Birthday".[12]

References

  1. ^ Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Just a Little Bit". Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville, Arkansas:
    ISBN 1-55728-252-8
    .
  2. ^ a b c Dallas, Karl (July 30, 2002). "Rosco Gordon (obituary)". The Independent. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  3. ^ Gordon recalled this as taking place in 1958, Billboard shows the releases in 1959.
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-89820-068-7
    .
  5. ^ "Reviews of This Week's Singles: Rosco Gordon – Just a Little Bit".
    ISSN 0006-2510
    .
  6. ^ Thomas, Bryan. "Rosco Gordon: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  7. ^ "Just a Little Bit (Legal title) – BMI Work #782502". BMI. Archived from the original on August 17, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  8. ^ Whitburn 1988, p. 170.
  9. ^ "Roy Head: The Billboard Hot 100".
    Billboard.com
    . Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  10. ^ "R.P.M. Play Sheet" (PDF). RPM. December 20, 1965.
  11. ^ Whitburn 1988, p. 259.
  12. ^ Turner, Steve (1994). A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song.
    ISBN 0062736981
    .
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