FEVER (1956)

Most jazz fans think of “Fever” as Peggy Lee’s signature song and are unaware that it started life as a rhythm and blues hit. Otis Blackwell, who wrote "Fever" along with Eddie Cooley, was known as a composer of R&B and rock ‘n roll songs rather than jazz. He wrote million-selling hits for rock ‘n roll musicians such as Elvis Presley, Dee Clark, Del Shannon and Jerry Lee Lewis, including “Don’t be Cruel”, “All Shook Up”, Great Balls of Fire” and “Return to Sender”. Blackwell credited “Fever” to a pseudonym, John Davenport, the name of his stepfather, because he was under contract to RCA at the time and was concerned that RCA would not pay him royalties.
The artist who first recorded “Fever” in 1956 was an R&B singer, Little Willie John. Although he had a diminutive frame and was barely over 5 feet in height, he had a powerful and very moving singing voice. He achieved considerable popularity amongst R&B fans in the 1950s and early 1960s and had already had 3 R&B top tens before the age of 18. However, he suffered from alcoholism and his behavior could be erratic. His notoriety as a performer may have added to his instability and he was known to carry a gun. In 1965 he was convicted of manslaughter for a stabbing during an argument after a performance in Seattle, and was sentenced to a 10-year prison term. He died under mysterious circumstances in prison in 1968; the official cause was a heart attack, but it has been speculated that his death may have been due to other causes. He was just 30 years old at the time of his death. Although his life was relatively short and turbulent, his musical abilities were well respected by other R&B artists like James Brown, who opened for him in 1956-57 at the Apollo Theater, Jerry Butler and B.B. King. He also inspired younger performers like Stevie Wonder and the Beatles. He was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
From Little Willie John’s perspective, “Fever” was an important recording for him. It was his first recording to cross over to the white market and enter Billboard’s Top 100 pop charts, where it debuted at position 50 in July 1956 and peaked at the 24th spot. In the hands of another singer, “Fever” could have been treated as a gimmick song, ending up in the novelty category and in oblivion as well. However, Little Willie John’s unique R&B treatment with its underlying eroticism appealed to young black females, who boosted record sales. It clearly appealed to white audiences as well, including Peggy Lee. She reworked the lyrics, making additions and changes, and recorded it on the Capitol Records label in May of 1958. Lee applied sultry sophistication to a jazz rendition of “Fever” using only a bass, drums and finger snapping as backup, an usually sparse accompaniment for that time. Her version rose to 8th position on the pop charts in August 1958 and quickly became a jazz classic. Since then, “Fever” has been recorded by artists from nearly every musical genre except opera, including pop, rock ‘n roll, country, folk, and soul in addition to R&B and jazz.
“Fever” actually is two classics in one – the original version by Little Willie Johnson preferred by R&B connoisseurs, and Peggy Lee’s revised version with expanded lyrics that is performed by most jazz and pop artists. The original lyrics and the revised lyrics are below.