Little Milton Campbell remained a top name in the soul and blues field for more than four decades after scoring his first national hit in 1962. Milton was an influential bluesman even by the 1950s when his St. Louis recordings for the Bobbin label, including “Lonely Man” and “Same Old Blues,” contributed to the repertoires of Chicago bluesmen Otis Rush and Magic Sam. Milton also had the distinction of signing with the most storied record companies in blues and R&B history, beginning with Sun in Memphis and continuing through Bobbin, Chess/Checker in Chicago, Stax in Memphis, T.K.’s Glades subsidiary in Miami, and Malaco in Jackson, Mississippi. According to family sources, Milton was born Sept. 7, 1933 (not 1934 as stated in previous bios) on a plantation near Inverness, Mississippi. After Greenville bluesman Eddie Cusic gave Milton his juke joint training in the Delta, Milton had his own radio program as well as a contract with Sun, thanks to his friend Ike Turner. The raw electric blues sound of his Sun recordings gave way to more polished productions as the years passed, and Milton hit the top of the R&B charts with a soul anthem, “We’re Gonna Make It,” in 1965 with Checker. Dozens more hits followed, including “If Walls Could Talk,” “That’s What Love Will Make You Do,” and the song that became a staple of countless blues bands, “The Blues Is Alright.” Milton, who was quick to state that he was a businessman first and an entertainer second, maintained a following among African American audiences throughout his career with his professional showmanship, a repertoire calculated to please fans of his soulful vocals on one hand and his sharp blues guitar on the other, and his constant acknowledgments of thanks to those who attended his shows – “Without you there would be no stars.” Milton achieved some crossover success, but not as much as he would have liked; he never achieved his dream of becoming a major Las Vegas headliner but he did, during his final years, take up residence there. Always aware of his primary market, however, he kept an apartment in Memphis to stay close to the Southern circuit that always supported him. More milestones lay ahead, but Milton’s career ended with a stroke that led to his unexpected demise in Memphis on Aug. 4, 2005.
— Jim O’Neal
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