| The Wallflower | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Etta James and the Peaches |
| B-Side: | Hold Me, Squeeze Me |
| Recorded: | 1954 |
| Genre: | Rhythm and blues[1] |
| Length: | 3:07 |
| Label: | Modern |
| Next Title: | Hey Henry |
| Next Year: | 1955 |
"The Wallflower" (also known as "Roll with Me, Henry" and "Dance with Me, Henry") is a 1955 song by Etta James. It was one of several answer songs to "Work with Me, Annie" and has the same 12-bar blues form.
The song was written by Johnny Otis, Hank Ballard, and Etta James. Etta James recorded it for Modern Records, with uncredited vocal responses from Richard Berry. It was popularly known as "Roll with Me Henry". This original version was considered too risqué to play on pop radio stations.
The song is a dialogue between "Henry" and the singer:
The context is the dance floor. The Midnighters also recorded an "answer to the answer": "Henry's Got Flat Feet (Can't Dance No More)".
Under the title "The Wallflower," the single became a rhythm and blues hit, topping the US Billboard R&B chart for four weeks. On Billboard
The song was reissued as "Roll with Me, Henry" on Kent Records in 1960. In 2008, Etta James received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award for her 1955 recording.[3]
In 1955, the song was covered for the pop market by Georgia Gibbs, with uncredited vocal responses from Thurl Ravenscroft, under the title "Dance with Me Henry." That version charted, hitting the top five of several pop charts, including No. 1 on the Most Played In Juke Boxes chart on May 14, 1955, spending three weeks on top of that chart.[4] In 1958, Etta James recorded her own cover of "Dance with Me Henry".