Fever (Little Willie John song)

"Fever" is a song written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, who used the pseudonym John Davenport. It was originally recorded by Little Willie John in 1956. It has been covered by numerous artists from various musical genres, notably Peggy Lee, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Nancy Sinatra, The McCoys, The Blues Band, Boney M., Amanda Lear, La Lupe, Madonna, Beyoncé Knowles, Fishtank Ensemble, The Jam, The Cramps, Wanda Jackson, Bette Midler, Michael Buble and even Suzi Quatro.

Little Willie John
The idea for the song was presented to Otis Blackwell by an old friend, Eddie Cooley. Blackwell said: "Eddie Cooley was a friend of mine from New York and he called me up and said 'Man, I got an idea for a song called "Fever", but I can´t finish it. I had to write it under another name because, at that time, I was still under contract to Joe Davis'."

Little Willie John reportedly disliked the song, but was persuaded to record it, on March 1, 1956, by King Records owner Syd Nathan and arranger and producer Henry Glover. His version was released in April 1956 and became a double-sided hit along with the top-ten R&B song "Letter from My Darling". "Fever" reached number one for three weeks on the R&B Best Sellers chart. It also made the pop charts, peaking at number 24 on the Billboard chart.

Peggy Lee
In 1958, Peggy Lee recorded the first cover version of the song, which featured significantly rewritten lyrics composed by Lee herself without credit. These uncopyrighted lyrics (including the verses beginning "Romeo loved Juliet," and "Captain Smith and Pocahontas") are now generally thought of as a standard part of the song, and have been included in most subsequent covers of "Fever". Only the first and the fourth verse of the Little Willie John version were used, because Lee thought that the Second and the Third original verses were too risque for her musical tastes.

Lee's version peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. It became a signature song for Lee and was nominated for "Record of the Year" at the 1959 Grammy Awards. Elvis Presley released a near identical version to Lee's two years later for his 1960 album, Elvis is Back.

Other versions
British singer Helen Shapiro recorded "Fever" in 1964; her version reached number 38 in the UK chart.

In late 1965, the rock group McCoys. released a version of the song "Fever", which had a very similar beat and rhythm to the previous hit "Hang on Sloopy". Only two verses were used, and it reminded listeners of their hit song "Hang on Sloopy". It hit Number 7 according to the Billboard charts.

During their 1982 world tour, The Jam covered the song as part of a medley with their own 'Pity Poor Alfie' and Ray Charles's Hit The Road, Jack. A studio version of this (minus the latter song) was released in September 1982 on the B-side of their penultimate single, 'The Bitterest Pill'.

In 2012, Barry Gibb performed "Fever" live at the Hard Rock Cafe in Miami with his own "Stayin' Alive" in the tempo faithful to Peggy Lee's version.

Lulu Roman (of Hee Haw fame) recorded a cover for her 2013 album At Last.

Michael Buble released his cover of this song on his self named debut album.

Song information
Amanda Lear's version of "Fever" was released as a single-only track in 1982. "Red Tape" from the previous year's Incognito album made the B-side. The cover photo of most single releases was taken by Alain-Philippe Malagnac d'Argens de Villèle, Amanda's then-husband.

The singer performed "Fever" in a number of television shows, such as German Ein Kessel Buntes or Italian Premiatissima. However, the single was not a commercial success and did not chart. "Fever" later appeared in the tracklist of Lear's Super 20 compilation album in 1989.

Music video
The music video was shot in Paris and sees Amanda performing the song on a boat on Seine. Lear's husband is also seen in the video.

Track listing

 * 7" Single (1982)
 * A. "Fever" - 3:36
 * B. "Red Tape" - 3:28

Madonna version
In 1992, Madonna recorded a cover version of "Fever" for her fifth studio album Erotica. She was in the studio putting down tracks for the album and had just recorded a song called "Goodbye to Innocence". She was going through the final stages of production on it when she suddenly started singing the lyrics to "Fever" over the top of it. Madonna liked the way it sounded so much that she recorded it. "Goodbye to Innocence" was never released on a Madonna album, although it did appear on Just Say Roe, a charity record, and a dub mix of it titled "Up Down Suite" was a bonus track to the "Rain" maxi-single.

Release
"Fever" was released as the fourth single from Erotica on March 22, 1993, by Maverick Records in Europe and Australia. It was released in the United Kingdom on 12", CD single and as a limited edition 7" picture disc featuring a still from the "Bad Girl" video. In the United States it was never officially released as a single and instead was the B-side to the single "Bad Girl", although the maxi-single of "Bad Girl" predominantly featured "Fever" remixes. In fact "Fever", as played on radio stations and shown on music channels, was not the original but a remixed version instead, a version called Edit One and is only commercially available on the German "Rain" CD single and 12" single; a slightly longer version titled Edit Two appears on the German 7" and 12" singles.

"Fever" became her highest debuting single from the Erotica album in the UK, entering at its peak position of #6 and comfortably selling over 85,000 copies, many of which were sold on the back of airplay alone as the video was not ready for release. The single entered just four weeks after the UK number 10 hit "Bad Girl", which was the fourth release from the Erotica album in the UK, with the fifth and final being the number 7 hit "Rain".

The heavy singles release schedule from Erotica in the UK charts was to aid sales of the parent album and keep Madonna songs on the radio airplay schedules. The video wasn't finished in time for release and with "Bad Girl" stalling at number 10 in the UK charts, Warner decided on an earlier than predicted release of "Fever". Warner quickly produced a montage of videos from her earlier works to promote the single. The original Stéphane Sednoaui-produced video has since been made commercially available on the DVD collection, The Video Collection 93:99. In the U.S. it became her fifteenth song to hit number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

Madonna first performed "Fever" on Saturday Night Live, in January 1993 along with her other hit single "Bad Girl". She also performed "Fever" as the second song of her Girlie Show World Tour. Madonna performed a jazz version of the song on the 1000th show special of The Arsenio Hall Show at the Hollywood Bowl in 1993. In September 2008, a remix of "Fever" (known as the Dance Floor Mix) was used in television promos for the fifth season of Desperate Housewives.

Music video
The music video (directed by Stéphane Sednaoui) was shot on April 10–11, 1993 at Greenwich Studios in Miami, Florida, and received its world première on May 11, 1993, on MTV. The music video, set to the tune of the "Edit One" remix, alternately features Madonna with a red wig and silver bodypaint in a variety of costumes dancing in front of funky, kaleidoscopic backgrounds. This can be considered her first foray into the world of special effects before the award winning video to her hit "Bedtime Story" was conceived 2 years later. The costumes in the video are inspired by The King and I and the Balinese influences of Hindu and Buddhism.


 * Director: Stéphane Sednaoui
 * Producer: Line Postmyr
 * Director of Photography: Darius Khondji
 * Editor: Olivier Gajan
 * Production Company: Propaganda Films

Tracklisting and format
Madonna's version of "Fever" was first released as the b-side to the 1993 single "Bad Girl" in the United States with remixes by Murk Boys and Shep Pettibone. It was then released in the UK and France as a standalone single with similar mixes. It has also appeared on the fourth single "Rain" in countries such as Japan and Germany, with the latter having exclusive remixes by Daniel Abraham ("Edit One" and "Edit Two") which were not released in any other territory.


 * UK cassette single / 7" vinyl / 7" picture disc (W0168/W0168C/W0168P)
 * 1) "Fever" (Album Edit)
 * 2) "Fever" (Murk Boys Radio Edit)


 * UK / French CD single (WO168CD, 9362-40846-2)
 * 1) "Fever" (Album Edit)
 * 2) "Fever" (Hot Sweat 12")
 * 3) "Fever" (Extended 12")
 * 4) "Fever" (Shep's Remedy Dub)
 * 5) "Fever" (Murk Boys Miami Mix)
 * 6) "Fever" (Murk Boys Deep South Mix)


 * UK 12" single (W0168T, 9362-40844-0)
 * 1) "Fever" (Hot Sweat 12")
 * 2) "Fever" (Extended 12")
 * 3) "Fever" (Shep's Remedy Dub)
 * 4) "Fever" (Murk Boys Miami Mix)
 * 5) "Fever" (Murk Boys Deep South Mix)
 * 6) "Fever" (Oscar G's Dope Dub)


 * Special DJ Limited Edition - Red Vinyl (PRO-A-674)
 * 1) "Fever" (Murk Boys Miami Mix)
 * 2) "Fever" (Oscar G's Dope Dub)
 * 3) "Fever" (Murk Boys Deep South Mix)
 * 4) "Fever" (Back to the Dub 2)
 * 5) "Fever" (12" instrumental)
 * 6) "Fever" (Extended 12")
 * 7) "Fever" (T's Extended Dub A)
 * 8) "Fever" (T's Extended Dub B)
 * 9) "Fever" (Hot Sweat 12")
 * 10) "Fever" (Shep's Remedy Dub)
 * 11) "Fever" (Peggy's Nightclub Mix) (Percapella)
 * 12) "Fever" (Bugged Out Bonzai Dub)


 * UK 12" vinyl promo (SAM 1131)
 * 1) "Fever" (Hot Sweat 12" Mix)
 * 2) "Fever" (Shep's Remedy Dub)
 * 3) "Fever" (Dub 1)
 * 4) "Fever" (Bugged Out Bonzai Mix)
 * 5) "Fever" (Peggy's Nightclub Mix)
 * 6) "Fever" (Radio Edit)
 * 7) "Fever" (Murk Boys Miami Mix)
 * 8) "Fever" (Murk Boys Deep South Mix)
 * 9) "Fever" (Album Version)
 * 10) "Fever" (Oscar G's Dope Dub)
 * 11) "Fever" (Back To The Dub 1)
 * 12) "Fever" (Back To The Dub 2)

Beyoncé Knowles version
"Fever" was re-recorded by Beyoncé Knowles on two different occasions. Knowles first recorded her version of "Fever" on September 9, 2003 for her film The Fighting Temptations. Following the release of her first fragrance Heat (2010), she recorded "Fever" again and officially released it in early February 2010 in the United States as well as the United Kingdom. It was included on her EP Heat (2011).

Background and release
Knowles included her version of the classic track "Fever" (1956) on multiple releases. Knowles' original recording of the song was included on the soundtrack album for the 2003 American musical dramedy film, The Fighting Temptations, in which Knowles had a leading role in the film. Including the song as part of her set-list on the Dangerously in Love Tour, the song was released on Beyoncé: Live at Wembley CD/DVD in 2004. Knowles' original recording was additionally included on the track-listing of her first mixtape Speak My Mind (2005). Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine wrote: "The seductive iciness of Peggy Lee's 'Fever' is successfully transplanted with a gumbo sound and sexy Southern comfort."

After releasing her first fragrance Heat, Knowles re-recorded her version of "Fever" as promotion for the fragrance, using the song in advertisements for the fragrance. The re-recorded 2010 version of the song was later released for digital-download on the iTunes Store on February 8, 2010.

Video
As promotion for the fragrance, a TV commercial for Heat was directed by Jake Nava, who also shot music videos for Knowles' "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (2008), "If I Were a Boy" (2008), "Beautiful Liar" (2007), "Baby Boy" (2003), and "Crazy In Love" (2003). The commercial features Beyoncé in a red satin dress sweating in a steamy room while the newly covered version of "Fever" (1956) plays in the background. Print advertising, shot by Michael Thompson, depicts a sultry Knowles in the same dress worn in the TV campaign.

In an interview with Women's Wear Daily, Knowles described the sexual tone of the video stating: "My sexiest moments are when I’m just getting out of the tub or the shower and I’m clean, so I wanted to incorporate that in the ads. The dress was this liquid-y satin. The song Fever I did years ago and always loved it. [For the commercial] I got to sing it a bit more whispery, more natural." In the accompanying TV advertisement, Knowles is seen in different scenes including Knowles emerging from a steamy bathroom as she sweats and enjoying herself in a bath. Throughout the video, Knowles only wears a red-satin kimono, which has been described as revealing.

Controversy
The commercial for the fragrance found controversy in the U.K. with UK's Advertising Standards Authority. The commercial was banned from the country's daytime TV rotation due to its "sexy imagery" and was only shown after 7:30 in the afternoon. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority commented on the ban decision stating "We considered that Beyoncé's body movements and the camera's prolonged focus on shots of her dress slipping away to partially expose her breasts created a sexually provocative ad that was unsuitable to be seen by young children."

Perfume maker Coty replied to the ban stating that they do not think there is anything too explicit about the TV spot. Coty continued stating that the commercial was "intended to reflect the singer Beyoncé's personal 'sexy chic' style," and while Beyoncé's cleavage is exposed at certain parts of the commercial, Coty continued stating that it is not "overtly graphic or explicitly sexual and at no point was Beyoncé naked."

Knowles, herself, responded to the commercial's ban jokingly stating: "Where's the wind coming from? It started out only [to stay cool], and then it kind of created this effect with my hair. You can only imagine, the show is two and a half hours. It's really, really warm onstage." Mother Tina Knowles additionally commented on the controversy stating that it was "very good" as people purposely went to watch the video and that "upped my sales."

In other media
On June 3, 1976, Rita Moreno sang "Fever" on episode 105 of The Muppet Show, accompanied by Animal on the drums who repeatedly and comically distracted her with a more aggressive drumming style than the song required, which caused Rita to use two cymbals to crush Animal's head in order to stop his wild playing, which resulted in his saying: "You're my kind of woman," thus ending the musical skit.

"Fever" was included in the Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet which opened in New York in April 2010; it was sung in the Broadway production by Elizabeth Stanley as "Dyanne".