Thurston Harris - Little Bitty Pretty One (1957)

Thurston Harris, born on July 11, 1931, got his first big break as a member of The Lamplighters, a vocal group that would later change their name to The Tenderfoots. The Tenderfoots, you may recall from our previous post, eventually transformed into The Sharps (albeit without Harris) and eventually bloomed into The Rivingtons. So although Harris was no longer a member of the group as they morphed into The Rivingtons, he did manage to have immense success with his one hit song, heard below, while being backed by The Sharps. After the large popularity of the song, Harris was able to reach the charts only once more with his hit “Do What You Did” reaching the Top 20 on the R&B charts. Sadly, after declining record sales, Harris was dubbed a one-hit wonder and became a bus driver in 1965 for twenty years in the Los Angeles, California area. In 1985, Harris took a job as a bus driver/tour guide for Universal Studios before succumbing to acute alcoholism and heart failure in 1990, passing away at the age of fifty-eight.

Written and originally recorded by Hollywood Flames member Bobby Day, this song was first brought to prominence through the voice and talents of today’s artist, while backup vocals were sung by The Sharps. Produced by Aladdin Records in Los Angeles, California, the song reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the R&B charts. It was later covered by Frankie Avalon, Frankie Lymon, Clyde McPhatter of The Drifters, The Dave Clark Five, The Jackson Five, Huey Lewis and the News, and many others. It has been used in numerous commercials, television shows, and movies.



Thurston Harris - Little Bitty Pretty One (1957)

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Lyrics:

Little, bitty, pretty one
Come on and talk to me
Lovey-dovey, lovey one
Come sit down on my knee

Tell you a story
Happened long time ago
Little, bitty, pretty one
I've been watchin' you grow

Little, bitty, pretty one
Come on and talk to me
Lovey-dovey, lovey one
Come sit down on my knee