Little Willy (song)

"Little Willy"
Single by The Sweet
from the album The Sweet
B-side	"Man from Mecca"
Released	19 May 1972 (UK) Sep 1972 (US)
Format	7" vinyl
Recorded	1972
Genre	Bubblegum pop,[1] glam rock,[2] power pop[3]
Length	3:13
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Producer(s)	Phil Wainman
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
The Sweet singles chronology
"Poppa Joe" (1972) "Little Willy" (1972) "Wig-Wam Bam" (1972)

"Little Willy" is a song written by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and performed by the British glam rock band The Sweet, released in 1972 as a non-album single in the UK, peaking at #4 in the best seller charts. It was released in the US in September 1972^[4] and also appeared on their US debut album The Sweet and became Sweet's biggest hit in the US, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[5]

This is the last single on which Steve Priest, Andy Scott, and Mick Tucker did not perform, as on "Little Willy" and all previous singles, producer Phil Wainman played drums, and session musicians John Roberts and Pip Williams were on bass and guitars respectively.

"Little Willy" was used extensively in the pilot of the television series Life on Mars.

Chart performance

Personnel

• Brian Connolly - lead vocals
• Andy Scott - backing vocals, guitar on "Man from Mecca"
• Steve Priest - backing vocals, bass guitar on "Man from Mecca"
• Mick Tucker - backing vocals, drums on "Man from Mecca"
• Pip Williams - guitar on "Little Willy"
• John Roberts - bass guitar on "Little Willy"
• Phil Wainman - drums on "Little Willy"

Cover versions

• U.S. glam metal band Poison recorded a cover version of "Little Willy" on their album Poison'd!
• Bob Rivers recorded a parody called "Little Billy's Willy", about President Bill Clinton and the Lewinsky scandal.

References