Artists doing song covers and renditions are fairly common, even among musicians from the past.
It is also common that the cover artist gets greater recognition than the original because of how they interpret the song to fit their own style. One great example of this is Frankie Lymon in the ’60s.
This song has been brought back to life a couple of times and it just keeps getting better and better.
Over the years, plenty of people have jammed to the catchy beat of the song called “Little Bitty Pretty One.”
It was a classic rock and roll tune originally written and recorded by Robert James Byrd, a ’50s R&B singer-songwriter also known as Bobby Day.
However, his version was probably not the one we have heard first as there are tons of musicians who have made a cover version for this and released it under their own names.
The first person to make a cover version for this song was none other than Thurston Harris.
He is an American singer who first appeared on wax in 1953.
He went with an R&B band called the Lamplighters as the vocalist but signed as a solo artist later in 1957. Harris recorded Bobby Day’s “Little Bitty Pretty One” with his former band backing him up. Harris’ version sold over a million records and even climbed up to the top six on the US Billboard Hot 100. Many people thought that the song would eternally be his, but another rising star during that decade emerged and made his own version of the song.
Frankie Lymon brought this particular song back over the course of his career.
The Teenagers was a popular American rock and roll and R&B group that emerged in the mid-’50s.
Composed of five young men of different upbringings, they have attained success in bringing their music to the world as one.
The group was made popular mainly with the young boy-soprano Frankie Lymon as the band’s lead singer, and The Teenagers later renamed themselves Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.
However, in 1957, Lymon went on his separate way and became a solo artist.
Lymon was not doing as well as he was with his former group, but this rendition got him back on track!
Ever since Lymon went his own way and pursued his music career as a solo artist, things were not as great as he was with The Teenagers.
He may have released decent singles on his own, but it doesn’t compare to how great the sales were before with his former group.
With hurdles on his way, he eventually got back on the main road after he released his own version of “Little Bitty Pretty One.”
His version eventually reached number 58 on the Hot 100 pop chart, which led back to his popularity.
He appeared on The Dick Clark Show where he performed the single in front of a large live audience.
It was a performance that electrified the crowd, one that people remember to this day!
Unfortunately, that song only gave Lymon the limelight for only a brief period of time as he fell hard in his heroin addiction.
It was truly heartbreaking when people caught news of Lymon’s death in 1968, departing early at the age of 25.
Regardless, many people still enjoy his songs—most specifically his Bobby Day cover.
Watch this archived video of Lymon’s performance of “Little Bitty Pretty One” from The Dick Clark Show and see what you think—it sounds just as good now as it did then!
Check out the full performance in the link below:
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