Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)

"Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)" is the debut single by comedian Bill Cosby, released in 1967 from the entertainer's first musical comedy album, Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings. On the 1968 album 200 M.P.H., Cosby states that the song was dedicated to his grandfather.

"Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)"
Single by Bill Cosby
from the album Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings
B-side"Don' Cha Know"
Released1967
GenreR&B, comedy
Length4:10
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy, Stevie Wonder
Producer(s)Fred Sledge Smith
Bill Cosby singles chronology
"Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)"
(1967)		 "Hooray for the Salvation Army Band"
(1967)

Background

A comedic parody which Cosby narrated about "a little ole man" whom he discovers three times, first getting hit by a train, later being run over by elephants, and lastly having no recollection of either incident.[1] The musical instrumental, chorus, and accompanying background vocals were a direct lift of the Stevie Wonder 1965 song "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", which had been a recent hit, and the authorship of "Little Ole Man" is credited solely to the authors of "Uptight". "Uptight" co-author Henry Cosby has no relation to Bill Cosby.

Chart history

The single became an unexpected hit for Cosby, charting as high as number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

Chart (1967) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] 4
U.S. Billboard Top Selling R&B Singles[3] 18

Influence

Bill Cosby one of the first comedians to have a charted hit single on the Billboard music charts. Fellow comics like Steve Martin and parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic later followed him on the Billboard charts with their comedy records.

References
  1. "That Was A Hit?!? : Grab Bag Edition". WNYC.org. May 3, 2013.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 195.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 136.
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