By the time Texas pianist Little Willie Littlefield turned 21, he had already committed an enduring blues standard to tape. His 1952 recording of “Kansas City,” issued as “K.C. Loving,” failed to register on the charts, thereby clearing the path for Wilbert Harrison to score a massive hit with the same Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller song seven years afterward.
Shaped by the styles of Albert Ammons, Charles Brown, and Amos Milburn, Littlefield entered the R&B studio wars while still a teenager, cutting his first 78 for Houston’s Eddie's Records in 1948. After additional titles for Eddie's and Freedom, he joined the Bihari Brothers’ Los Angeles-based Modern imprint in 1949, promptly scoring two major R&B successes with “It’s Midnight” and “Farewell”; a third chart appearance, “I’ve Been Lost,” followed in 1951.
During his Modern period Littlefield became a local sensation in Los Angeles, headlining clubs and touring behind a band anchored by saxophonist Maxwell Davis. At his initial 1952 session for the King subsidiary Federal, he laid down “K.C. Loving” with Davis on saxophone, yet neither that track nor subsequent Federal releases restored him to the charts.
Apart from a handful of singles cut for Oakland’s Rhythm label in 1957 and 1958, Littlefield remained largely silent until the late 1970s, when festival and European tour engagements sparked a comeback. While abroad he met and married a Dutch woman, made the Netherlands his home, and continued performing into the 2000s until his death from cancer in 2013.
