"Little Willy" | ||||
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Single by The Sweet | ||||
from the album The Sweet | ||||
B-side | "Man from Mecca" | |||
Released | 19 May 1972 (UK) January 1973 (US) [1] | |||
Recorded | 1972 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:13 | |||
Label | RCA (UK) Bell (US & Canada) [7] | |||
Songwriter(s) | Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman | |||
Producer(s) | Phil Wainman | |||
The Sweet singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"Little Willy" on YouTube |
"Little Willy" is a song written by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and performed by the British glam rock band The Sweet, released in 1972 as a non-album single in the UK, peaking at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. It was released in the US in January 1973 and also appeared on their US debut album The Sweet and became their biggest hit in the US, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. [8] Billboard ranked it as the number 18 song for 1973.
In a retrospective review of glitter rock, Bomp! noted that although rock music journalists almost uniformly "loathed it", the song was a huge commercial success and "helped launch the essential glitter rock formula sound". [9]
"Little Willy" was used extensively in the pilot of the television series Life on Mars .
Chart (1972–1973) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [10] | 65 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [11] | 7 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [12] | 19 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [13] | 1 |
Denmark[ citation needed ] | 1 |
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [14] | 2 |
Ireland (IRMA) [15] | 9 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [16] | 6 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [17] | 7 |
New Zealand [18] | 7 |
Norway (VG-lista) [19] | 7 |
South Africa (Springbok) [20] | 9 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [21] | 2 |
UK [22] | 4 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [23] | 3 |
West Germany (Official German Charts) [24] | 1 |
Chart (1973) | Rank |
---|---|
Canada [25] | 17 |
UK [26] | 41 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [27] | 18 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [28] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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