Little Bitty Pretty One

"Little Bitty Pretty One"
Single by Thurston Harris and the Sharps
B-side"I Hope You Won't Hold It Against Me"
ReleasedSeptember 1957
GenreDoo-wop[1]
Length2:22
LabelAladdin
Songwriter(s)Bobby Day

"Little Bitty Pretty One" is a 1957 song written and originally recorded by Bobby Day. The same year, the song was popularized by Thurston Harris.[2] Produced by Aladdin Records (located in Los Angeles, Calif.), and featuring the Sharps on backing vocals,[3] Harris's version reached No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Best-Sellers chart and No. 2 on the R&B chart.[4] The Bobby Day version reached No. 11 in the Canadian CHUM Chart.[5]

In 1991, Jacqueline Byrd, the widow of songwriter Bobby Day, told lawmakers that she had intercepted a letter addressed to her husband. The letter from the Copyright Office stated that the copyright to "Little Bitty Pretty One" was not renewed, thus ending royalty payments to Day and the song's publisher. Byrd never told her husband, who was dying of cancer, about the letter. If the song's copyright were renewed, Byrd and her four children would have received royalty payments until 2037.[6]

"Little Bitty Pretty One"
Single by The Jackson 5
from the album Lookin' Through the Windows
B-side"If I Have to Move a Mountain"
ReleasedApril 4, 1972
Recorded1972
StudioMotown
GenreR&B
Length2:22
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)Bobby Day
Producer(s)Mel Larson, Jerry Marcellino
The Jackson 5 singles chronology
"Sugar Daddy"
(1971) 		"Little Bitty Pretty One"
(1972) 		"Lookin' Through the Windows"
(1972)

Reception

[edit]

Bryan Thomas writes that the song "has gone on to become one of the best loved oldies of the late '50s".[7]

The song is famous for its hummed opening.[8][9]

It was used in the 1983 horror film Christine, the 1989 comedy/fantasy film Little Monsters, and the 1996 comedy/fantasy film Matilda.

Cover versions

[edit]

"Wiggle, Wiggle"

[edit]

"Little Bitty Pretty One" was the inspiration for the Accents' sole hit "Wiggle Wiggle" in 1958, and though the similarities were evidently not sufficient to warrant a lawsuit, Aladdin Records took the expedient step of covering the song with a group called the Chestnuts.

References

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  1. ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 429. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
  2. ^ Dave Marsh, The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made (Da Capo Press, 1999), 429.
  3. ^ The Lamplighters at Allmusic
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 246.
  5. ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - November 18, 1957".
  6. ^ "Bush Likely to OK Bill That Would Renew All Pre-1978 Copyrights." Billboard 20 June 1992.
  7. ^ Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, John Bush, and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul (Backbeat Books, 2003), p. 297.
  8. ^ Otfinoski, Steven (December 30, 1997). The Golden Age of Rock Instrumentals. Billboard Books. ISBN 9780823076390 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Gillett, Charlie (May 1, 2011). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll. Souvenir Press. ISBN 9780285640245 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "Frankie Lymon - Chart history". Billboard. 1960-08-20. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles (12th ed.). p. 645.
  12. ^ Soulsation! (1995), liner notes
  13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles (12th ed.). p. 482.
  14. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. April 15, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
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