Book Released About Life And Death Of R&B Singer Little Willie John
DETROIT (WWJ) - Did Little Willie John really kill someone? WWJ Newsradio 950's Beth Fisher reports that the murder conviction is one of the issues explored in a new book about the R&B singer, who grew up in Detroit.
A lot of mystery surrounds the life and death of Detroit R&B singer Little Willie John, who had a string of hits in the 50's & early 60's.
A book has just been released about him by Detroit News reporter Susan Whitall: "Fever--Little Willie John's Fast Life, Mysterious Death & The Birth of Soul".
Whitall says he had some famous fans: "James Brown opened the show for him, so he sort of mentored James Brown and , they, they played together at the Apollo quite a bit and were very competitive. And he was competitive with Jackie Wilson, too. They were both about the same age, coming out of Detroit," said Whitall.
Whitall says Little Willie John died in prison at the age of 30, convicted of stabbing someone to death at a party in Seattle, but she says he may have been wrongly convicted. She says she talked to the prosecutor, who says the singer had a bad lawyer ... that others at that party could have been the killer.
"He had been forgotten because he'd come so early and died in prison in 1968. And the story, the kind of dramatic quality of the story had really kind of enraptured me as a reporter," said Whitall.
Whitall says he deserved his induction into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame ... saying her book explores his conviction.
