Li'l Millet
McKinley James " Li'l " Millet ( born October 25, 1935 in New Orleans, Louisiana, † June 29, 1997 ) was an American R & B musician, as a performer of Rich Woman some importance for the Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans obtained.
Millet founded his first band with his four brothers, who were stopped by the mother to learn an instrument. McKinley took over the keys, a professor Wilcox led the band and played the bass. The young pianist was already after a few laying the plates, re-enacting the songs of popular R & B musicians like the Ink Spots, Paul Gayten and Roy Brown.
He received his first professional engagement in Carl Joseph's band The Hawkettes, which he, however, before they hit Mardi Gras Mambo left again to the trumpeter Tyler Van Scott, drummer Bill Smith, guitarist Ernest Meyer and tenor saxophonist John " L" is a to form his own band. Starting in 1954, the troupe played as the house band at the Blue Gardenia Club, and in the cities of the area. Bismark Parker, the owners of The Gables Inn in McComb, Mississippi, the band first announced as " Li'l Millet and the Creoles ".
In an appearance of Creoles 1955 Sugar Bowl in Thibodaux producer Bumps Blackwell of Specialty Records discovered the band whose version of Bo Diddley Diddley Diddley Daddy he liked. Equipped with a new text of songwriter Dorothy La Bostrie, Millet played the song with the studio band on drums and Frank Fields on bass, under the title of Rich Woman in Cosimo Matassas J & M Studio in the occupation Lee Allen on sax, Earl Palmer. With Hopeless Love on the back Rich Woman appeared as Specialty 565 and has since been re-released and gecovert several times.
As the specialty colleague Little Richard accompanied the band to a gig to Houma, Louisiana, he heard Millets own composition All Around the World. The rock-' n'- roll star took the piece in 1956 and released it as a B-side of The Girl Can not Help It on Specialty 591 Bumps Blackwell claimed as Little Richard's producer credits as co -author, although the piece of Millet was written alone. Millet had previously recorded a demo version of his song, which, however, until 1993 came out on a compilation of the Specialty archives. Due to the dominance of the prominent colleagues saw Millet for his career at Specialty Records little support. Although he took a few more sessions to below Blackwell, the songs were not published until 30 years later on compilations from the British label Ace Records.
Despite the manageable recorded oeuvre is held Li'l Millet and his Creoles to 1980 as much booked live and support band in the greater New Orleans in the business. After the dissolution of his band Millet worked as a bus driver in the 1990s and played a few charity events. McKinley Millet died in 1997 from cancer.