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User:FrostFairBlade/sandbox/Reet Petite

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Production and release[edit]

  • Born out of a song snippet that Billy Davis had; a boogie-woogie lick that Davis liked that was inspired by Davis' crush on a girl who already had a boyfriend[1][2]: 64 [3]: 331–332 
  • Gordy recalls "Reet Petite" given to Wilson by Pearl Music and Davis[2]: 64 
  • Title is from Louis Jordan's 1947 film Reet, Petite, and Gone[4][5][6]
  • Arranged by Dick Jacobs, the then-music director of Decca Records and A&R director with Coral Records[7]: 60 
    • Jacobs - recalled Wilson looking quite disheveled and unlike his usual self; as Jacobs recorded the lead sheets for Wilson to sing, he slowly gained respect for the unknown Gordy due to the song's "unusual melody" and "strikingly inventive chord construction"[7]: 60–61 [8]
    • After writing the music down, Jacobs and Wilson figured out what key to record "Reet Petite" in; Wilson claimed he had laryngitis and couldn't sing that day, but promised he could sing in a much higher register than Jacobs was expecting[7]: 61 [8]
    • On the day of the recorded, Wilson shocked everyone -- "Jackie Wilson opened his mouth and out poured that sound like honey on moonbeams, and it was like the whole room shifted on some weird axis. The musicians, these meat and potatoes pros, stared at each other slack-jawed and goggle-eyed in disbelief; it was if the purpose of their musical training and woodshedding and lick-spitting had been to guide them into this big studio in the Pythian Temple to experience these pure shivering moments of magic"[7]: 61–62 [8]
  • Recorded on July 31, 1957[9] at the Pythian Temple recording studio in New York City[10]: 134 

Music and lyrics[edit]

Release and commercial performance[edit]

  • As "Reet Petite" rose in popularity, the label further promoted the song by hiring a Detroit model to pose as "Miss Reet Petite" with multiple local disc jockeys[12]
  • "Reet Petite" peaks at US #62 in November 1957, and UK #6 in January 1958[13]: 928 
  • Sells over 250,000 copies of the record[14]
  • In December 1986, "Reet Petite" became the Christmas number one single in the United Kingdom that year,[15][16] usurping "Caravan of Love" by The Housemartins[17]

Critical reception[edit]

  • Past reviews
    • A Billboard review of He's So Fine remarked that "Reet Petite" was one of the songs that contributed to a good debut LP by Wilson[18]
    • Tom Kain of the Scottish newspaper The Bulletin states that "quite frankly Jackie is good"[19]
    • A review by The Age stated that the song was "adequately presented" by Wilson[20]
    • A Cash Box review from September 1957 gave it a B+, saying that Wilson "displays his skills with a rockin' novelty as he belts out a gimmick-filled jumper that cuts along at a torrid pace", and that the song was "potent teen-fare that could go big"[21]
  • Retrospective reviews
    • Ken Emerson of The Boston Phoenix - compared unfavorably with James Brown's first single, "Please, Please, Please", saying that Wilson's song "reeks of the antique, and not just because of the title's outdated argot"[22]
    • Perry Meisel, in The Cowboy and the Dandy: Crossing Over from Romanticism to Rock and Roll - praises Wilson's ability to sing effortlessly in both his natural tenor range, as well as in falsetto[23]: 78 
      • "Wilson's technical prowess alone is remarkable, but its chief feature—a tenor singer's command of falsetto registers—is what makes him an exceptional to the potential banalities of the customary tradition of tenor singing alone."

Music video[edit]

  • While Wilson never recorded an official music video for "Reet Petite", an animated music video was released after his death
  • Animation was done by British animation studio Giblets (Michael Olley, Mike Sumpter, Carol and Rob MacGillivray) - Sumpter, Olley, and Rob MacGillivray were studying graphic design at St. Martin's College of Art, and teamed up with Rob's sister when they graduated[24]: 33 
  • Known for creating music videos, motion graphics, short films[25]
  • Giblets made the music video as part of the studio's demo reel to show prospective record companies; "Reet Petite" was chosen due to its unusual lyrics[24]: 33 [26]
  • Made the models in clay rather than plasticine because it was easier to them to sculpt a larger-than-life head[24]: 33 
  • The music video was made in seven days on 35mm film; the only costs were for film and lighting, and everything else was donated as a favor (e.g. it was shot in Rob's parents attic)[24]: 34 
  • Achieved popularity in the United Kingdom after airing on Video Jukebox on BBC2[24]: 33 [27] (some sources mention Arena as the series it played on)[28][29]

Live performance and other usage[edit]

Credits and personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

  1. ^ "Respect - Interview with Billy Davis [Part 2 of 3]". Rock and Roll. Event occurs at 11:55. GBH. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  2. ^ a b White, Adam (1994-11-05). "Gordy Speaks: The Billboard Interview". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  3. ^ Broven, John (2009). Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252032905.
  4. ^ Kurlansky, Mark (2013-07-11). Ready For a Brand New Beat: How "Dancing in the Street" Became the Anthem for a Changing America. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-61626-0.
  5. ^ Pollock, Bruce (2014-03-18). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era. Routledge. p. 295. ISBN 978-1-135-46296-3.
  6. ^ "The Song "Reet Petite" Boosted Motown". MPR News. 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2022-01-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b c d Douglas, Tony (2005). Jackie Wilson: Lonely Teardrops. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415974301.
  8. ^ a b c Holmes, Tim (1988-01-11). "Jackie Wilson—Taking it Higher: A Producer Remembers 'Mr. Excitement'". Musician. No. 111. ISSN 0733-5253.
  9. ^ "Decca matrix 102882. Reet petite (The finest girl you ever want to meet)-1". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 2021-12-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Gulla, Bob (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists who Revolutionized Rhythm. Greenwood Icons. Vol. 1. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313340451.
  11. ^ Miller, James (2000). Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947-1977. New York: Fireside. ISBN 9780684808734.
  12. ^ "Detroit DJ's Meet "Miss Reet Petite"". Cash Box. Vol. 19, no. 4. 1957-10-12. p. 29. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  13. ^ Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1996). "Jackie Wilson". Q Encyclopedia of Rock Stars. London: Doring Kindersley. ISBN 9780751303933.
  14. ^ Joseph, Lawrence (Winter 2002). "The Music Is". Tin House. Vol. 3, no. 2. McCormick Communications. p. 64. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  15. ^ "Thirty Years of Christmas No 1s". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-01-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "All the Christmas Number Ones". BBC. 2002-12-16. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  17. ^ Top Of The Pops - The Story of 1986 (Television production). BBC. 2018 [2018-07-06]. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  18. ^ "Reviews and Ratings of New Popular Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1958-04-07. p. 28. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  19. ^ Kain, Tom (1957-12-03). "Fighting to Get Back on Top". The Bulletin. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  20. ^ "Alone, Catchy Strong-Beat Song Represented in Latest Pops". The Age Radio/TV Supplement. 1958-03-06. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  21. ^ "Record Reviews". Cash Box. Vol. 18, no. 52. 1957-09-14. p. 8. Brunswick could have a big star in this versatile performer. Jackie display his skills with a rockin' novelty as he belts out a gimmick-filled jumper that cuts along at a torrid pace. Potent teen-fare that could go big. Watch this long shot.
  22. ^ Emerson, Ken (1983-04-19). "Soul Prince: From a Whisper to a Scream". The Boston Phoenix. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  23. ^ Meisel, Perry (1999). The Cowboy and the Dandy: Crossing Over from Romanticism to Rock and Roll. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195118179.
  24. ^ a b c d e Cheal, David (May 1987). "Feat of Clay". LM. No. 4. Newsfield. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  25. ^ Bendazzi, Giannalberto (2015-11-06). Animation: A World History: Volume III: Contemporary Times. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-317-51987-4.
  26. ^ Stewart, Jez (2021-08-26). The Story of British Animation. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-911239-72-7.
  27. ^ "Jackie Wilson". British Film Institute. Retrieved 2021-12-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ "This Week in 1987". Fingal Independent. 2016-01-16. Retrieved 2022-01-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ^ Nissim, Mayer (2021-12-20). "'Reet Petite' by Jackie Wilson: The Making of the Unlikely Christmas Number 1". Gold. Retrieved 2022-01-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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