FEVER

Created on 21/12/2007
Latest update on 13/12/2023

Artist: Little Willie John
Author: Eddie Cooley/John Davenport
Label: King
Year: 1956

Tragical character; deserved his place in league with Ray Charles and Percy Mayfield, but was condemned for murder in 1966. He died in prison two years later. (see also: Need Your Love So Bad, Leave My Kitten Alone and Let Them Talk)

Covers:

1956:

Joe Tex [as Pneumonia]

1957:

Johnny Otis Band [vocal: Arthur Lee Maye; first cover, unissued until the 90s]

1957:

Earl Grant

1957:

Ray Peterson [first white cover; his debut single]

1958:

Peggy Lee [adding four self-written stanzas and very influential arrangement; hit UK & US]

1958:

Anita Lindblom [first translation as Feber (Swedish)]

1958:

Gabriel Dalar [as 39 de fièvre; lyrics by Boris Vian]

1958:

Maureen Evans

1959:

Louis Prima [in film Hey Boy! Hey Girl!]

1959:

Caterina Valente [as 39 De Fièvre]

1959:

Cindy Ellis [in German as Fieber]

1959:

Laila Kinnunen [in Finnish as Kuume]

1959:

Frankie Avalon

1960:

Elvis Presley

1960:

La Lupe [in Spanish as Fiebre]

1961:

Eddie Cooley [coauthor on MGM]

1961:

Buddy Greco

1962:

Clyde McPhatter

1962:

Dee Clark

1963:

Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Smith

1963:

Timi Yuro

1963:

Helen Shapiro

1964:

Bobby Freeman

1964:

Alvin Robinson

1964:

Sarah Vaughan

1964:

Michel Laurent [as Ailleurs]

1965:

Claude Nougaro [as Docteur]

1965:

McCoys

1965:

Ventures

1966:

Esther Phillips

1966:

Jenny Rock [as Cent-deux de fièvre]

1967:

James Brown

1968:

Little Milton

1968:

Buddy Guy [as You Give Me Fever]

1969:

Hassles [vocal: Billy Joel]

1969:

Chicago Cubs [as Pennant Fever for Chess; no baseball title and no hit]

1970:

Mongo Santamaria

1971:

Billy Lee Riley

1972:

Junior Byles [reggae version]

1972:

Conway Twitty

1973:

Rita Coolidge

1973:

Johnny Hallyday & Sylvie Vartan [as Vivre]

1974:

James Cotton

1975:

Powerhouse

1975:

Brian Eno

1975:

Suzi Quatro

1976:

Boney M

1979:

Lizzy Mercier Descloux [as You Give Me Tumor]

1980:

Bob Dylan [on Bootleg Series Vol 16]

1980:

Cramps

1981:

Tom Jones

1981:

Marie France [as 39 de fièvre]

1982:

Neville Brothers

1982:

Amanda Lear

1983:

Marine Girls

1986:

Annabella [ex Bow Wow Wow]

1989:

Joe Cocker

1989:

Chaka Khan

1990:

Woodentrucks

1990:

Bart Peeters [as Liever]

1992:

Madonna

1993:

God Machine

1994:

Tom Verlaine

1996:

El Vez

1998:

Nico Wayne Toussaint

2002:

Joanna Connor

2002:

Precious Bryant

2003:

Michael Bublé

2003:

Beyoncé

2004:

Ray Charles [with Natalie Cole]

2005:

Bette Midler

2008:

Helmut Lotti

2016:

Joachim Pastor ft. Mischa

Written by Eddie Cooley, who cut the demo and recorded his own Fever for the lp We Wrote 'Em, We Sing 'Em, initiated by this other frustrated songwriter Otis Blackwell. That was Fever's coauthor under his alias John Davenport, the name of his father in law.

Contact


If you noticed blunt omissions, mis-interpretations or even out-and-out errors,
please let me know:

Arnold Rypens
Rozenlaan 65
B-2840 Reet (Rumst)

info@originals.be

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