Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright) | |
Type: | single |
Artist: | Bill Cosby |
B-Side: | Don' Cha Know |
Released: | 1967 |
Genre: | R&B, comedy |
Length: | 4:10 |
Label: | Warner Bros. |
Producer: | Fred Sledge Smith |
Next Title: | Hooray for the Salvation Army Band |
Next Year: | 1967 |
"Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)" is a single by comedian Bill Cosby, released in 1967 from the entertainer's first musical comedy album, . On the 1968 album 200 M.P.H., Cosby states that the song was dedicated to his grandfather.
A comedic parody which Cosby narrated about "a little ole man" whom he discovers three times, first getting hit by a train, later being run over by elephants, and lastly having no recollection of either incident.[1] The musical instrumental, chorus, and accompanying background vocals were a direct lift of the Stevie Wonder 1965 song "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", which had been a recent hit, and the authorship of "Little Ole Man" is credited solely to the authors of "Uptight". "Uptight" co-author Henry Cosby has no relation to Bill Cosby.
The single became an unexpected hit for Cosby, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
Chart (1967) | Peak position | |
---|---|---|
Canada RPM[2] | 2 | |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] | 4 | |
U.S. Billboard Top Selling R&B Singles[4] | 18 |
. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 . Joel Whitburn . 2013 . Record Research . 195.
. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 136.