1) Little Milton (September 17, 1934—August 4, 2005) was the stage name for… Read Full Bio ↴1) Little Milton (September 17, 1934—August 4, 2005) was the stage name for Milton Campbell, Jr., a blues vocalist and guitarist best known his hits "Grits Ain't Groceries" and "We're Going to Make It." Most popular in the sixties, he became one of the lesser known greats of the genre, combining traditional lyrical structure with smoother production.
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.

Twenty-Three Hours
Little Milton Lyrics

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It′s been twenty three hours
And seventeen minutes
And thirteen seconds

Since you been gone
My blood pressure keeps going up, oh
My pulse tone got reel weak
I can't stand it, baby

Oh no, being alone
Listen

We had a silly fight
And we both played our games
So let′s give it one more try
And you know I'll take the blame, oh

Come back, baby, come back
Give me one more chance
You know I'll change my ways
Oh let′s try it over
Oh let′s try it over
Oh let's try it over
One more time

Oh baby, oh baby, oh yeah, listen

I stood by the telephone
Waiting for you to call
Hoping that you′d forgive me
But I've waited all night long
Then I called your mother
Hoping you d be there
You got me walking round in circles, baby
Pulling out my hair

She said you left this morning
She didn′t know where you had gone
And now you've got me beggin′ you
Please don't leave me alone, oh

Come back, baby, come back
Give me one more chance
You know I'll change my ways
Oh let′s try it over
Oh let′s try it over
Oh let's try it over
One more time

Oh yeah, oh baby, oh baby, listen

My health gonna fail me
If you don′t come on back
Can't live without you, baby
And that′s a natural fact, now listen
You know I'm still your man
Though you said I did you wrong
But if you just got to leave me
Please don′t stay so long

Come back, baby, come back
And give me one more chance
I will change my ways
Oh let's try it over
Oh let's try it over
Oh let′s try H over
One more time

Oh baby, come on, baby
Come on back right now
Yes, baby, come on back to me, baby
And I love you, you know I need you

I got to have you right now
Oh I need you, baby...

Overall Meaning

The song "Twenty-Three Hours" by Little Milton is a soulful plea for a lost love to come back. The singer in the song is in a state of desperation and his health is suffering due to the absence of his love. He has been counting the minutes and hours since his love left and is unable to focus on anything else. The singer mentions that they had a fight and both played their games, but he is willing to take the blame and start over again. He is waiting for his love to call him back, and is unable to find any peace until she does.

The lyrics of the song are emotionally charged and convey the heartbreak of losing someone you love. It is a relatable experience that many people go through, which makes the song even more powerful. The song is also notable for its soulful rhythm and blues sound, which is characteristic of Little Milton's work. The instrumentation and vocal delivery are both powerful and emotive, and help to convey the deep feelings of the singer.

Overall, "Twenty-Three Hours" is a poignant and moving song that speaks to the heartache of lost love, and the desire to start over again. It captures the emotions of the moment and is a reminder that love is a powerful force that can consume us completely.

Twenty-Three HoursLittle Milton Lyrics

Twenty-Three Hours
Little Milton Lyrics