LITTLE CHILDREN
“Little Children” is a song written by J. Leslie McFarland and Mort Shuman. It was recorded by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas, and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in March 1964, and No. 7 in the US Hot 100 singles chart later the same year. The B-side of “Little Children” in the U.S., “Bad to Me” (which had previously been an A-side in the UK which made No. 1 there in August 1963) peaked at No. 9 on the US charts simultaneously to the success of “Little Children” there. The lyrics concern a man’s entreaties to his girlfriend’s young siblings not to reveal his courtship of their elder sister and to leave them alone, at some points, even bribing them with things like “candy and a quarter” and “a movie”, on the condition that they “keep a secret”. As such, it was a departure from the traditional love songs previously recorded by Kramer (sometimes supplied by Lennon & McCartney). (More from Wikipedia)
Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas had numerous hit songs, including several Lennon/McCartney songs in Britain (Billy J. Kramer was also managed by Brian Epstein) and a major U.S. hit, “Little Children” in March 1964. They used “with” rather than “and” so as to keep separate identities for the singer and the band. The Dakotas by themselves had a hit instrumental in the U.K. with “The Cruel Sea”; for its U.S. release, it was retitled “The Cruel Surf” and was later covered by the Ventures. A curious song by the Dakotas called “7 Pounds of Potatoes” – “ . . . come between me and my love”, according to the lyrics – is included on English Freakbeat, Volume 2 (both the LP and the CD).
(May 2015)
