Reet Petite

"Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)" (originally subtitled "The Finest Girl You Ever Want to Meet") is a song made popular by Jackie Wilson. It was his first solo hit after leaving the Dominoes and, over the years, has become one of his biggest international chart successes.

History

The song was written by Berry Gordy, Gwen Gordy Fuqua and Wilson's cousin Roquel "Billy" Davis (though credited under his pseudonym Tyran Carlo on the record) and produced by Dick Jacobs, and its title was taken from the Louis Jordan song "Reet, Petite and Gone". It was Jackie Wilson's first recording as a solo artist. The song peaked at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1957 and reached #6 on the UK Singles Chart. With the success of the song, Gordy was able to fund the launch of Motown Records.

The song was reissued in 1986 following the showing of a clay animation video on the BBC Two documentary series Arena. The video was directed by Giblets, a London-based animation studio.

The reissued version proved so popular that in December 1986, almost three years after Wilson's death, the song became a No. 1 in the UK for four weeks (selling over 700,000 copies), some 29 years after its chart debut. This was the record for the longest time between a song's debut on the chart and it reaching number one, until it was overtaken by Tony Christie's "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" in 2005.

Delta Dawn

"Delta Dawn" is a song written by former child rockabilly star Larry Collins and songwriter Alex Harvey, best known as a 1972 top ten country hit for Tanya Tucker and a number-one hit for Helen Reddy in 1973.

The co-writer more often goes by the name Alexander Harvey today, not to be confused with Glaswegian rocker Alex Harvey.

Lyrical story

The title character is a faded Southern belle from Brownsville, Tennessee who, at forty-one, is obsessed to unreason with the long-ago memory of an errant suitor. The song's lyrics describe how the woman regularly

Reddy's recording in particular has choir-like inspirational overtones as well.

Background and recording history

The first recording of "Delta Dawn" was made by Harvey for his eponymous album released in November 1971. Although Harvey opened for Helen Reddy – his Capitol labelmate – at the Troubadour in January 1972, Reddy made no apparent connection with any of Harvey's compositions at that time.

Dianne Davidson, who sang backup on Harvey's recording was the first artist to record a cover and chart in 1971–72. Tracy Nelson, who sang backup on Harvey's recording, performed "Delta Dawn" in her live act. After hearing Nelson sing "Delta Dawn" at the Bottom Line in New York City, Bette Midler added the song to her repertoire. Nashville-based producer Billy Sherrill heard Midler sing "Delta Dawn" on The Tonight Show and wanted to sign her to Epic Records and have her record the song. Finding out that Midler was already signed to Atlantic Records, Sherrill cut the song with Tanya Tucker who was newly signed to Epic and Tucker's version was released April 1972 to reach number 6 C&W that spring.

Jackie Wilson

Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American soul singer-songwriter and performer. A tenor with a four octave vocal range, he was nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", and was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was considered a master showman, and one of the most dynamic and influential singers and performers in R&B and rock 'n' roll history. Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group Billy Ward and His Dominoes, he went solo in 1957 and recorded over 50 hit singles that spanned R&B, pop, soul, doo-wop and easy listening. This included 16 R&B Top 10 hits, including 6 R&B # 1's. On the Billboard Hot 100, he scored 14 Top 20 Pop hits, 6 of which made it into the Pop Top 10. On September 29, 1975, while headlining a Dick Clark Oldies Concert, he collapsed on stage from what was later determined to be a massive heart attack, and subsequently slipped into a coma slowing awakening over a period of 8 months. He remained semi-comatose for the 9 years until his death in 1984, at the age of 49; he was deemed conscious but incapacitated in early June 1976. Wilson was an inspiration to Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, James Brown and Michael Jackson to name a few. He was one of the most influential artists of his generation.