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.
Walking the Back Streets and Crying
Little Milton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He said, I don't love you, baby
And you got to, you got to let me go
And that was too much, too much for me
That's why I walked the backstreets and cry
You know it hurts me so bad
To hear my baby say
He said another reason that makes me wanna leave
You ain't got enough of nothin' to keep me, keep me
That was too much, oh, too much for me
That's why I walked the backstreets, the backstreet and cry
Oh yeah
Oh, it hurts me, it hurts me so bad
Oh, to hear my baby
Hear my baby say goodbye
He said, you're a good woman, Etta
To treat me like you do"
He said, you ain't done nothin' to me
I just can't stay here with you
I stood and watch my baby as far as I could see
You know the men started runnin'
After waiving, waiving goodbye to me
That was too much, too much for me
That's why I walked the backstreets and cry
Oh yeah
You know it hurts me, it hurts me so bad
Oh, to hear my baby
Hear my baby say goodbye
Hear and say goodbye
You know it hurts me so bad
To hear my baby say goodbye
That's why I walked the backstreets
The backstreets and cry
Oh, I said it hurts me, it hurts me so bad
Hear my baby say, so long
Oh, it hurts me, hurts me, hurts me so bad
Hear my baby say, hear my baby say goodbye
Oh baby, oh, oh, it hurts me so bad
Hear my baby say goodbye
That why I walked the backstreets
That why I walked the backstreets and cry
Oh, that why I walked the backstreets and cry
Cry, cry
The lyrics of Little Milton's "Walking the Back Streets and Crying" chronicle the painful end of a relationship from the perspective of a heartbroken protagonist. The song opens with the singer's partner telling him that he doesn't love him anymore and that he needs to move on. The singer is devastated by the breakup and the lyrics describe him wandering the backstreets of the city, inconsolable and crying.
The second verse offers further details about the split: the partner explains that he is leaving because he doesn't think the singer has enough to offer him - that he doesn't have enough "of nothin' to keep [him], keep [him]." Though the partner acknowledges that the singer is a "good woman," he insists that he "just can't stay here with [her]."
The final verse sees the singer standing on the street corner, watching her former partner drive away. Other men start approaching her as she stands there, and she can't handle the pain any longer. She returns to the backstreets, crying and trying to process the hurt she's feeling.
All of these emotions and experiences are conveyed through the soulful blues music that Little Milton was known for. His powerful vocals and guitar playing underscore the raw, vulnerable lyrics and drive home the song's melancholy message.
Line by Line Meaning
You know my baby told me not so very long ago
My lover informed me recently
He said, I don't love you, baby
He indicated that his feelings for me have faded
And you got to, you got to let me go
He demanded that I release him
And that was too much, too much for me
This request was overwhelming for me
That's why I walked the backstreets and cry
In response, I walked down the lonely alleys and wept
You know it hurts me so bad
The pain is severe
To hear my baby say
When my partner told me
Hear my baby say goodbye
That he was breaking up with me
He said another reason that makes me wanna leave
He revealed another factor motivating his departure
You ain't got enough of nothin' to keep me, keep me
I lack sufficient qualities to maintain his interest
That was too much, oh, too much for me
This additional explanation was unbearable for me
That's why I walked the backstreets, the backstreet and cry
This caused me to take a lonely walk and weep
He said, you're a good woman, Etta
Despite his reasons for leaving, he complimented me
To treat me like you do"
Acknowledging my kindness toward him
He said, you ain't done nothin' to me
He tried to reassure me that it was not personal
I just can't stay here with you
But he simply cannot remain in the relationship
I stood and watch my baby as far as I could see
I watched him leave until he was out of sight
You know the men started runnin'
As he departed, other men started following him
After waiving, waiving goodbye to me
Waving farewell to me
That was too much, too much for me
This sight intensified my pain
That's why I walked the backstreets and cry
So I continued my walk and cried some more
Oh, I said it hurts me, it hurts me so bad
I cannot overemphasize the emotional pain
Hear my baby say, so long
Hearing him say goodbye
Oh, it hurts me, hurts me, hurts me so bad
The agony does not cease
Hear my baby say, hear my baby say goodbye
Hearing him speak the words of separation
Oh baby, oh, oh, it hurts me so bad
I am consumed by my sadness
That why I walked the backstreets
And that is why I sought out solitude in the alleys
That why I walked the backstreets and cry
And wept for my lost love
Cry, cry
My sorrow is uncontainable
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SANDY JR. JONES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dr. Remetj Williams
my mom loved this song. She lived to be 103 and she still tried to sing it. miss you my lady.
Wilma Washington
Yes Lord, this is it‼️‼️‼️👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
anita Blair
😅😅
anita Blair
😅😅
Nathaniel Haynes
Beautiful story
Rickey Gee TV
I love this jam right here. This is how real blues is supposed to be played!
James Mitchell
YES!!! A blues classic and it goes deep in my soul!!!!
Latonja Mckenzie
I remember my mama use to play this song all the time....every time I hear it I think about her...I love ❤️ and miss you mama💚💛🧡💜💙
Jeannee Simpson
I was raised on this music and I can't imagine life without it. I love the blues I just wish that I could have seen these artist live.
Even Stevenson
See each by b by by k Mo me one hi hg hg hi hi Connie CT at Co has cost
Thanks