JOHN, LITTLE WILLIE [MI]
Homebase: Detroit, Michigan
Stats: November 15, 1937--May 26, 1968
Misc Notes: On the night of October 17, 1964, the Detroit-based 1950s R&B star, Little Willie John -- famed for his immortal classic “Fever” -- stopped in at Seattle's fabled Birdland dancehall (at 22nd & Madison) after completing his downtown gig at the Magic Inn nightclub in (at 5th Avenue & Union Street). John partied heartily and even climbed the stage to sing a few for the stunned crowd. But at closing time early the next morning he joined a nearby house party on 23rd and managed to get into a fight during which he stabbed a man to death. John’s career stopped in its tracks. He went to trial, and was sentenced to 20 years hard time in the Walla Walla State Penitentiary. James Brown and Aretha Franklin were among his old peers who stopped by to visit him on occasion. John died there in 1968 at the age of 30.
