Little Willie John is the soul singer's soul singer." - Marvin Gaye "My mother told me, if you call yourself 'Little' Stevie Wonder, you'd better be as good as Little Willie John." - Stevie Wonder Little Willie John lived for a fleeting 30 years, but his dynamic and daring sound left an indelible mark on the history of music. His deep blues, rollicking rock 'n' roll, and swinging ballads inspired a generation of musicians, forming the basis for what we now know as soul music. Born in Arkansas in 1937, William Edward John found his voice in the church halls, rec centers and nightclubs of Detroit, a fertile proving ground that produced the likes of Levi Stubbs and the Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson, and Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. One voice rose above the rest in those formative years of the 1950s, and Little Willie John went on to have 15 hit singles in the American rhythm & blues chart, with co