Milton was born James Milton Campbell, Jr., in the Mississippi Delta town of Inverness and raised in Greenville by a farmer and local blues musician.[2] By age twelve he had learned the guitar and was a street musician, chiefly influenced by T-Bone Walker and his blues and rock and roll contemporaries.[2] In 1952, while still a teenager playing in local bars, he caught the attention of Ike Turner, who was at that time a talent scout for Sam Phillips' Sun Records. He signed a contract with the label and recorded a number of singles. None of them broke through onto radio or sold well at record stores, however, and Milton left the Sun label by 1955.[2]
After trying several labels without notable success, including Trumpet Records,[3] Milton set up the St. Louis based Bobbin Records label, which ultimately scored a distribution deal with Leonard Chess' Chess Records.[2] As a record producer, Milton helped bring artists such as Albert King and Fontella Bass to fame, while experiencing his own success for the first time.[2] After a number of small format and regional hits, his 1962 single, "So Mean to Me," broke onto the Billboard R&B chart, eventually peaking at #14.
Following a short break to tour, managing other acts, and spending time recording new material, he returned to music in 1965 with a more polished sound, similar to that of B.B. King. After the ill-received "Blind Man" (R&B: #86), he released back-to-back hit singles. The first, "We're Gonna Make It," a blues-infused soul song, topped the R&B chart and broke through onto Top 40 radio, a format then dominated largely by white artists. He followed the song with #4 R&B hit "Who's Cheating Who?" All three songs were featured on his album, We're Gonna Make It, released that summer.
Throughout the late 1960s Milton released a number of moderately successful singles, but did not issue a further album until 1969, with Grits Ain't Groceries featuring his hit of the same name, as well as "Just a Little Bit" and "Baby, I Love You". With the death of Leonard Chess the same year, Milton's distributor, Checker Records fell into disarray, and Milton joined the Stax label two years later.[2] Adding complex orchestration to his works, Milton scored hits with "That's What Love Will Make You Do" and "What It Is" from his live album, What It Is: Live at Montreux. He appeared in the documentary film, Wattstax, which was released in 1973.[4] Stax, however, had been losing money since late in the previous decade and was forced into bankruptcy in 1975.[2]
After leaving Stax, Milton struggled to maintain a career, moving first to Evidence, then the MCA imprint Mobile Fidelity Records, before finding a home at the independent record label, Malaco Records, where he remained for much of the remainder of his career.[2] His last hit single, "Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number," was released in 1983 from the album of the same name.[2] In 1988, Little Milton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and won a W.C. Handy Award.[2] His most final album, Think of Me, was released in May 2005 on the Telarc imprint, and included writing and guitar on three songs by Peter Shoulder of the UK-based blues-rock trio Winterville.
The name 'Little Milton' was reused for Gerald Bostock, the fictional boy poet central to Jethro Tull's 1972 record Thick as a Brick.
Milton died on August 4, 2005 from complications following a stroke.
Little Bluebird
Little Milton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I sure wish she would sing for me
I'll tell you all, I know, I know a little bluebird
I sure, I sure wish she would sing for me
I'll tell you why
She's been flying around so long, oh Lord
I wish she would land in my tree
I say every, every, every, every, every, every, every
Every time she goes by, oh, I want to clip her wings
You know why
So we can lock up in her nest together
Oh, I'll buy her pretty things, yes I will
Oh, little bluebird, please come and nest with me
Oh, Lord, have mercy, little bluebird
Please, oh, please come and nest with me
I'll tell you why
Oh, I'll make life so wonderful, baby
You and me in my tree, oh
Oh, little bluebird, please come nest with me
I think I better call her again a little louder
Oh, Lord, have mercy, you pretty little bluebird
Please, please, please come and nest with me
Oh, I'll make life so wonderful, baby, yes I will
You and me in my tree, oh
Oh, little bluebird, it's true that I love you
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you
Oh, I love you when you fly, baby
Oh, little bluebird, Lord yeah, just keep on, keep on
Whatever you're doing, keep on flying with me
Oh, oh, oh, little bluebird
The song "Little Bluebird" by Little Milton is a romantic love song that compares a woman to a little bluebird. The singer expresses his desire for the bluebird to nest with him, promising to make life wonderful for her and to buy her pretty things. He longs for her to sing for him and wants her to stay with him forever.
The lyrics reveal the singer's infatuation with the bluebird, and his fantasies about being with her. He sees her as a beautiful, elusive creature that he wants to capture and make his own. The repetition of the phrase "oh, Lord, have mercy" emphasizes his intense longing for the bluebird and his desperation to have her. The final line, "just keep on flying with me," shows that the singer is not resigned to the fact that the bluebird may never come to him, and that he will continue to pursue her.
Overall, "Little Bluebird" is a sweet and romantic song that captures the joy and excitement of falling in love. The singer's longing and desire for the bluebird is palpable, and his promises to make life wonderful for her show his deep commitment to her.
Line by Line Meaning
I know a little bluebird
Little Milton is aware of a little bird called a bluebird.
I sure wish she would sing for me
Little Milton desires the bluebird to make a melody for him.
I'll tell you all, I know, I know a little bluebird
Little Milton emphasizes that he knows a bluebird very well and will tell you about it.
I sure, I sure wish she would sing for me
Little Milton restates his yearning for the bluebird to make a melody for him.
She's been flying around so long, oh Lord
The bluebird has been flying around for a long time.
I wish she would land in my tree
Little Milton wants the bluebird to land on his tree.
Every time she goes by, I want to cut her wings, yeah
Little Milton expresses his frustration with the bluebird by wanting to cut its wings when it flies by.
I say every, every, every, every, every, every, every
Little Milton emphatically repeats the word 'every' to emphasize his repeated desire to clip the bird's wings.
You know why
Little Milton asks if the listener knows why he wants to clip the bird's wings.
So we can lock up in her nest together
Little Milton desires to trap the bird in its nest with him.
Oh, I'll buy her pretty things, yes I will
Little Milton promises to purchase lovely objects for the bluebird.
Oh, little bluebird, please come and nest with me
Little Milton begs the bluebird to come and make a home in his tree.
Oh, Lord, have mercy, little bluebird
Little Milton calls upon God to bless the bluebird.
Please, oh, please come and nest with me
Little Milton pleads with the bluebird to come and make a home in his tree.
Oh, I'll make life so wonderful, baby
Little Milton promises to make the bluebird's life magnificent.
You and me in my tree, oh
Little Milton visualizes himself and the bluebird living harmoniously in his tree.
I think I better call her again a little louder
Little Milton decides to call the bluebird again louder to get its attention.
Oh, Lord, have mercy, you pretty little bluebird
Little Milton once again calls upon God to bless the bluebird, whom he thinks is lovely.
Please, please, please come and nest with me
Little Milton repeatedly pleads with the bluebird to come and make a home in his tree.
Oh, little bluebird, it's true that I love you
Little Milton declares his affection towards the bluebird.
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you
Little Milton repeats 'I love you' four times to emphasize how deeply he feels for the bluebird.
Oh, I love you when you fly, baby
Little Milton states that he loves the bluebird even when it is flying.
Oh, little bluebird, Lord yeah, just keep on, keep on
Little Milton encourages the bluebird to keep flying and doing whatever it is doing.
Whatever you're doing, keep on flying with me
Little Milton requests the bluebird to keep flying with him regardless of what else it is doing.
Oh, oh, oh, little bluebird
Little Milton calls to the bluebird once more before the song concludes.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID PORTER, ISAAC HAYES, BOOKER T. JONES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pamela Kindle
Honoring my mom today by playing all the blues greatest hits. I remember growing up she would play the blues while cooking or cleaning..... R.I.H.🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️... Happy Birthday momma🎂🎊🎈
chedderz66
That sustained note he holds at the end WOW!
Jazzy Sam
Oh hell yeah! This still sounds so good in 2022. Milton played the hell out of that guitar and held that note till the end. ❤️❤️❤️🔥🔥🔥
ahoggatt01
This was my grandfather favorite blues song..It reminds me so MUCH of him..when I hear it I can smell him and see a vision of him smiling, shaking his head and singing this song...
Brenda Pearson
My dad would play this song all day. I remember him smiling and tapping his foot while sipping on that crown. ❤❤
jenny_jenny_nc
My Ma' ... loves blue birds. It's that simple. But she has never been simply that kind of mother. But... I send her that simple kind of love. My Ma. Betty Lou. Love breaks pain and barriers. Love is God. God is Love. I send you and your family love. Bless.
Sylvia Hardy
MY DAD TOO LOL
Leroy K
Man this never gets old! All the old time greats have their own signature song...this was his.
Joseph Strong
walk the back street and cryed
Stevejoe232 Santana
me and my dad use to sing this song word from word when I was 5 yrs old....now im 37 and every time play this song...I think of my dad....rest in peace daddy