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.
You're Welcome To The Club
Little Milton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And sit right down
I know your heart's been broken
So let your tears fall down
Everybody knows
You done lost your love
So walk right in now, buddy, yeah
Lord, you're welcome to the club
We've got a deck of cards
And a TV, too
I know it won't help
But Lord, it might give comfort to you
We've got every sad record
That you can think of
So walk on in now, buddy, yeah
Lord, you're welcome to the club
We nail up the windows
So they can't see inside
They'll never know how much we cry
People say a man ain't supposed to cry
But they'll never tell you why
There's a sign on the door
Says no women allowed
If it wasn't for these women
We wouldn't have this crowd
I tell you the place is packed
Like a hand in a glove
So walk right on in now, buddy, yeah
You're welcome to the club
I want you to come on in
You may as well
Make yourself at home, baby
You might have to stay here for a while
Well, come on in and join the crowd, baby
Everybody here's got troubles, yeah
Let your tears fall down
Nobody's gonna laugh at you, no no no
Lord, yeah
Why don't you come on in now, buddy...
Little Milton's song "You're Welcome to the Club" is a heartwarming invitation to someone who is dealing with a broken heart. The opening lines, "Just walk right in, and sit right down, I know your heart's been broken, so let your tears fall down" set the tone for the rest of the song. The singer knows what it's like to be heartbroken and offers a welcoming space to the person who is suffering.
The lyrics suggest that the singer of the song is not alone in their suffering. The club they are invited to is filled with people who also have experienced heartbreak. The line "We've got every sad record that you can think of" emphasizes that the club is a place where people go to find comfort in music that speaks to their pain. The chorus, "Lord, you're welcome to the club," is repeated multiple times, reinforcing the idea that the troubled individual is not alone.
The song's final lines, "Nobody's gonna laugh at you, no no no, Lord, yeah, Why don't you come on in now, buddy," encourages the person to come in and find solace in the community. It's a powerful message of acceptance, empathy, and solidarity.
Line by Line Meaning
Just walk right in
Enter without hesitation
And sit right down
Take a seat and relax
I know your heart's been broken
I can sense and feel your heartache
So let your tears fall down
It's alright to cry and let your emotions out
Everybody knows
Everyone is aware
You done lost your love
You've lost someone you deeply care about
So walk right in now, buddy, yeah
So don't be afraid to come in
Lord, you're welcome to the club
We've all been through similar situations and can relate
We've got a deck of cards
We have things to occupy ourselves with
And a TV, too
And entertainment as well
I know it won't help
I know it won't fix your problems
But Lord, it might give comfort to you
But it might provide some comfort
We've got every sad record
We have music to match any mood
That you can think of
Any song that comes to mind
So walk on in now, buddy, yeah
So come on in
Lord, you're welcome to the club
You're welcome here among us
We nail up the windows
We shut out the world
So they can't see inside
To keep our pain private from others
They'll never know how much we cry
No one will ever see our tears
People say a man ain't supposed to cry
Society has expectations of how men should behave
But they'll never tell you why
But they can't explain why it's wrong
There's a sign on the door
A sign indicates the rules
Says no women allowed
Women aren't allowed in
If it wasn't for these women
Despite this rule, women are the reason we're here
We wouldn't have this crowd
Without them, we wouldn't have a community
I tell you the place is packed
The place is full and lively
Like a hand in a glove
Fitting together perfectly
So walk right on in now, buddy, yeah
So don't hesitate to join us
You're welcome to the club
We accept and understand you
I want you to come on in
I urge you to join us
You may as well
You might as well
Make yourself at home, baby
Be comfortable, feel at ease
You might have to stay here for a while
You may need a place to stay for some time
Well, come on in and join the crowd, baby
So join us and be a part of our group
Everybody here's got troubles, yeah
Everyone has their own problems
Let your tears fall down
You can cry amongst us
Nobody's gonna laugh at you, no no no
We won't judge or ridicule you
Lord, yeah
It's a tough situation, but we're here for each other
Why don't you come on in now, buddy...
So come on in, don't be afraid
Writer(s): Sonny Thompson
Contributed by Reagan O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@dustyroze150
oh! yeah! one ov my favorite by the best blues singer in the world ever, Mr.Little Milton
@davew.9902
"We've got every sad record that you can think of . . ." Ain't that the truth!
@aliM-ct2ed
wow superbe
@sartsman
I'm here in the club. Damn