© Joseph A. Rosen

guest stars join
little milton in his push to reach out
to a wider audience with class and style

by Jeff Weiner and
Alain Recaborde

"Hey! Hey! The Blues Is Alright!"

Little Milton Campbell’s proud signature tune is heartily sung by local, national and international blues bands each night in every corner of the globe. Unofficially dubbed the "International Blues Anthem," most musicians live to write a song ingrained so deeply into the American blues fabric as is "The Blues Is Alright." It resonates with people worldwide, even though the majority of fans who shout out the call-and-response chorus, as well as some of the local bands who play it nightly, may not realize they’re covering Little Milton, one of the true consummate professionals of the blues.

After an almost five-decade career, the 65-year-old singer/guitarist consistently delivers a unique blend of B.B. King’s melodically stinging guitar fused with Bobby "Blue" Bland’s raspy yet sexy gospel vocals. Milton’s magnetic performing style was molded by his early association with Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) and the original King Biscuit Boys.

Yet, for all the acclaim and recognition he’s received as an internationally renowned bluesman for the past quarter century, Milton still hasn’t achieved the level of mainstream popularity he so rightly deserves. But it’s possible that Little Milton’s 13^th album for Malaco Records, Welcome to Little Milton, may well be his long-sought vehicle to crossover success.

Welcome to Little Milton is the brainchild of producer Greg Preston. In an effort to broaden Milton’s fan base, Greg leveraged the friendship and mutual trust he enjoys with Little Milton to hand-pick headliners from diverse musical backgrounds to lend their marquee names to the project. Some, like Keb’ Mo’, Susan Tedeschi and Delbert McClinton are already well known to the blues world. Gov’t Mule, Lucinda Williams, Peter Wolf, G. Love & Special Sauce and Dave Alvin are recognized by a wider spectrum of music fans. Each inspired by his unique brand of soul-blues, together they share much love and respect for Little Milton, and the resulting album finds a clearly invigorated Milton having a blast sharing the spotlight with his guest artists.

We caught up with Milton at the King Biscuit Festival in Helena this fall, and he agreed there were no star egos on display during the sessions, even among the musicians he hadn’t previously met.

"I was pleasantly surprised," Milton told us. "Each one of these artists came into this project without that super-stardom attitude. They were down to earth and looking up to me in a sense. But it went so smoothly, the transition was just like the right-sized fingers going into a glove. It was a universal language and also a universal attitude. Within a few minutes, it was as if we had known each other for years and we had done this thing several times before. It was beautiful."

The songs range from the pained country standard "Love Hurts" (sung with Lucinda Williams) to the rollicking "Gimme My Broom" (featuring Keb’ Mo’ on vocals and guitar) to the raging blues-rock of "When the Blues Come Knockin’" (with Gov’t Mule providing a hard kick). Yet throughout the program Milton remains confidently in control despite the eclectic nature of the material.

"Each artist brought something great to this project. I did my best to accept it, put my little bit in, and fortunately everybody came out with their own identity. It was a togetherness thing and it was enjoyable.

"I am the type of artist who will not record anything that I cannot feel, or anything I can’t add something to and at the same time get something out of. When you do that, if you’re able to pull it off, you’re not only cheating the potential record buyers, but you’re cheating yourself. Every tune I did I enjoyed and felt it could be a potential winner, and a number one tune.

"I not only did that when I went into the studio with these people, but I do that with all of my recording sessions. I don’t record nothing that I don’t feel, that I don’t like. I don’t give a damn who writes it or who says you should do it.

"When I go into the studio, I am my own boss. I have advisors and friends, I listen to them and I listen to their points. But if I feel that I can’t do it without putting all of me into it, then I say, ‘No, we are not going to do it.’"

Listening to Little Milton, we were struck by his deep respect for his elders and the values they instilled in him. Describing the mural depicting several seminal local blues legends now on display near the levee in downtown Helena, Milton beams: "I literally bowed to what I saw. There could not be any greater contribution and respect given to these great human beings, these great entertainers, these pioneers of what we call the blues today, than going back and paying homage to Mount Rushmore. These were the pioneers. I learned so much from these guys."

Little Milton’s face lights up as he recounts some early advice offered by his mentor, Rice Miller: "‘Don’t get the big head, boy’ — he always said ‘Hey, boy’ — ‘because some girl is screaming because you’re singing. You’re only as big as the people who support you.’"

"The stars are the people sitting out there in the audience," Milton adds. "The people that go to the record stores, buy your product and pay their money to see you — those are the stars. You are just a tool to give some humor, some pleasure, some sadness, because your songs make them happy about good things that have happened. The songs will make them reminisce about some things that weren’t so pleasant and give them hope that they can change. Sonny Boy, Willie Love, Joe Willie Wilkins, even Elmore James, they taught me all of this."

Milton’s strong sense of identity and purpose stands in stark contrast to some of the concerns he expresses about the world of today. "I look at so many of the musicians of today," he says, "and a lot of them are very talented, but they don’t know where they come from, and they don’t know where they’re going. They are looking at one thing: the mighty dollar. A lot of people sell their soul for the dollar, and they forget about what the kids are being taught.

"One of the main reasons the younger blacks, and a certain percentage of younger whites as well, don’t really cater to so-called ‘blues and soul’ music is because of the radio stations. Throughout the country the formats they play for the younger folks is what they are exposed to. It’s basically hip-hop and rap, and that’s such a damn shame. People forget about their heritage.

"I believe this is why you find so much crime, so much racial hatred and ignorance, because I don’t think the kids are being taught the true values of life, of respect, of love, of commitment, of consideration and fair play for their fellow human being. They get so disgusted with the way things are and they just go out and do anything. They are in a turmoil of defiance. They are not making it better, they’re just making it different. Nobody’s there to teach them."

One thing nobody can teach, though, is what Little Milton has running through his body: SOUL. You can hear it in every note he sings and plays. No matter what your age or economic standing, the deep soul blues of Little Milton will inspire and enrich your life, at least for as long as you’re listening.

"They call it blues and R&B, but I think it has to do with an individual’s feeling, his or her mood, their deliverance of what they feel, their ability to make other people feel what they feel. I know one thing, it is not about being ignorant, poor, illiterate, down and out, or heart-broken, because you can have all the money in the world and still be sad.

"A good soulful song can make you feel better. Blues is my life — it’s what I feel. It’s my profession, I take it extremely seriously and I treat it with total respect, because if I don’t, I’m gonna give other people the wrong impression. It’s the way I make my living, too. In all of your big corporations, everybody’s trying to make mo’ money!

"You can’t buy soul. You can’t go to the soul store if you don’t feel it. You can go through the motions, and that’s the only thing that bothers me with a lot of the young musicians. They make a lot of noise and talk loud, but they ain’t sayin’ shit because they don’t have no soul. There’s no feeling in it."

In the tradition of the great bluesmen before him, Little Milton has no intention of retiring … ever. If this album doesn’t expose him to a wider audience, he’ll just keep on doing what he’s always done.

"I have people ask me, ‘Do you ever think about when you’re gonna retire?’ I say, ‘Re-who? What are you talking about?’ I don’t see that, because I am still having fun and the music has been good to me.

"I’ve never been a superstar, and may never make it to be a superstar, but I don’t care. By the grace of God I made a name for myself, and I’m still around. I’m still a contributor and get paid to do it. I still love it, and I know as long as I can enjoy what I’m doing, there’ll be no retiring.

"The time that I’ll retire is when they lay me down, fold my arms and y’all come by and say, ‘That sorta look like him. Yeah, that’s him!’ Other than that, as long as God grants me the time on this earth, I’m gonna’ enjoy doing what I’m doing."

As for now, Milton emphatically declares: "This particular CD, with all of these great artists that have contributed, will hopefully open up the door for me, and I ought to be able to stand on my own. In fact, I know I can! It’s just a matter of getting into the right ears and the right eyes.

"I think James Brown said it best: ‘I don’t want nobody to give me nothing, just open up the door and I’ll get it myself.’"

©2000 Blues Access, Boulder, Colorado, USA

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