Reet Petite
Encyclopedia
"Reet Petite" (original subtitle: The Finest Girl You Ever Want to Meet) is a song made popular by Jackie Wilson
. It was his first solo hit after leaving the legendary R&B group The Dominoes and, over the years, has become one of his biggest international chart successes.
and Tyran Carlo, a pseudonym of Jackie's cousin Billy Davis, and produced by Dick Jacobs
, the song is one of the classics of rock and roll
music. Taking the title from the Louis Jordan
song Reet, Petite and Gone, this was Jackie Wilson's first recording as a solo artist. The song peaked at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100
in September 1957 and reached #6 on the UK singles chart
. With the success of the song, Gordy was able to fund the launch of Motown Records
.
The song was reissued in 1986 following the showing of a clay animation
video on the BBC Two
documentary series Arena
.
The reissued version proved so popular that in December 1986, almost three years after Wilson's death, the song became a #1 in the UK for four weeks. This held the record for the longest time between a song's debut on the chart and it finally reaching number one (29 years, 1 month, 11 days) until it was overtaken by Tony Christie
's (Is This the Way to) Amarillo in 2005
.
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
. It was his first solo hit after leaving the legendary R&B group The Dominoes and, over the years, has become one of his biggest international chart successes.
Song information
Written by Berry GordyBerry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
and Tyran Carlo, a pseudonym of Jackie's cousin Billy Davis, and produced by Dick Jacobs
Dick Jacobs
Dick Jacobs was an American musician, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, music director and an artists-and-repertoire director for several record labels who helped Jackie Wilson, Buddy Holly, Bobby Darin and others form their careers in the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Life and career:He was born...
, the song is one of the classics of rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
music. Taking the title from the Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
song Reet, Petite and Gone, this was Jackie Wilson's first recording as a solo artist. The song peaked at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in September 1957 and reached #6 on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. With the success of the song, Gordy was able to fund the launch of Motown Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
.
The song was reissued in 1986 following the showing of a clay animation
Clay animation
Clay animation or claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay....
video on the BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
documentary series Arena
Arena (TV series)
Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. It has run since 1 October 1975, and over five hundred episodes have been made. Arena covers all manner of subjects, from profiles of notable people such as Bob Dylan to the Ford Cortina car...
.
Tony Christie
Tony Christie is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his track, "Is This The Way To Amarillo", a double UK chart success.-Career:Tony Christie has sold over 10 million albums Worldwide...
's (Is This the Way to) Amarillo in 2005
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
.
Track lists
| Side | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Original release | ||
| A | "Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want to Meet)" | 2:40 |
| B | "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" | unk |
| 1986 re-release | ||
| A | "Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)" | 2:40 |
| B1 | "You Brought about a Change in Me" | 2:46 |
| B2 | "I'm the One to Do It" | 2:34 |
Charts
| Chart | Date | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
September 1957 | #62 |
| United Kingdom UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
November 1957 | #6 |
| United Kingdom | November 1986 | #1 (4 weeks) |
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
December 21, 1986 | #1 |
| The Netherlands Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
February 14, 1987 | #1 (2 weeks) |
| Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
March 8, 1987 | #3 |
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
March 15, 1987 | #3 |
| France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
April 11, 1987 | #24 |
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
March 1987 | #4 |
| Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
February 1987 | #5 |
| New Zealand | May 31, 1987 | #4 |
Cover versions
- The song was covered in 1963 by Dee Dee SharpDee Dee SharpDee Dee Sharp is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.-Career:...
. - The song was covered in September 1964 by Dinah LeeDinah LeeDinah Lee is the stage name of New Zealand-born singer, Diane Marie Jacobs , who performed 1960s pop and then adult contemporary music. Her debut single from early 1964, "Don't You Know Yockomo?", achieved No. 1 chart success in New Zealand and, across the Tasman Sea, in Brisbane and Melbourne...
and reached the #1 position in New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and a #6 position in MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
(Australia did not have a national chart yet). - The song was covered in 1972 by Shakin' Stevens and the SunsetsShakin' Stevens and the SunsetsShakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were a rock and roll group formed in Cardiff, Wales in 1969. Although most notable now for their lead singer Shakin' Stevens, who went on to become one of the UK's most popular artists of the 1980s, the band released several records and toured extensively throughout...
- The song was covered in 1979 by Darts (band)Darts (band)Darts were a nine-piece British doo-wop revival band that achieved chart success in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The popular London-based band had a number of UK top 20 hits including three successive Number twos with revivals of early U.S...
- The song is covered in Neil InnesNeil InnesNeil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...
and Fatso's 2008 UK tour: it is sung by guitarist Billy BremnerBilly BremnerWilliam John "Billy" Bremner was a Scottish professional footballer, most noted for his captaincy of the Leeds United team of the 1960s and 1970s. He has since been voted Leeds United's greatest player of all time and has a statue outside the South East corner of Elland Road... - This song is mentioned in the lyrics of the Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
song "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)"Jackie Wilson Said " is a song written and performed by Van Morrison and featured as the opening track on his sixth studio album, Saint Dominic's Preview. It was released by Warner Bros...
" from his 1972 album, Saint Dominic's PreviewSaint Dominic's PreviewSaint Dominic's Preview is the sixth solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in July 1972 by Warner Bros. Records...
. - This song is mentioned in the lyrics of the David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
song "Red Money" - This song is mentioned in the lyrics of the MarahMarah (band)Marah is an American country band that formed in the early 1990s and is closely associated with the cities of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Brooklyn, New York...
song "Christian Street" - This song is mentioned in the lyrics of the WarrantWarrant (American band)Warrant is an American heavy metal band from Hollywood, California, that experienced success from 1989-1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its...
song "In The Sticks" - This song was covered by Cee-Lo Green in 2011 for Jools HollandJools HollandJulian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
's HootenannyHootenannyHootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in early twentieth century America to refer to things whose names were forgotten or unknown. In this usage it was synonymous with thingamajig or whatchamacallit, as in "hand me that hootenanny." Hootenanny was also an old country word for... - This song was covered by Marcus Collins in 2011 in the Eight Series of The X Factor UKThe X Factor (UK series 8)The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eighth series began airing on ITV on 20 August 2011. Louis Walsh is the only judge from the previous series to return, as the other three, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole, all left to join other...