In 1986, a claymation video resurrected a 29-year-old song, sending it to number one on the UK Singles Chart. That track, “Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town),” was more than a novelty revival. It was the sound of a seed being planted. The royalty check from this two-minute storm of pure, unfettered joy became the cornerstone of a musical empire. Berry Gordy, then a hungry young songwriter in Detroit, had co-written the song with his sister Gwen Gordy Fuqua and Roquel “Billy” Davis. The money earned from “Reet Petite” helped launch what would become Motown Records.
The singer behind this moment was Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. In 1957, fresh from his stint with Billy Ward and His Dominoes, he stepped into the studio for his first solo single. Wilson was a man of kinetic, almost unsettling energy, a performer whose stage presence would soon earn him the nickname “Mr. Excitement.” The challenge was to capture that controlled chaos on tape. The answer came in a burst of brassy syncopation and a vocal performance so wild it sounded like a cartoon character tumbling down a staircase.
From the downbeat, “Reet Petite” is a kinetic marvel. The horns attack with a raw jump-blues punch, not the polished brass of later Motown. The rhythm section—drums, upright bass, and a swinging piano—drives a relentless, breathless pace. The drums are mixed forward, especially the crack of the snare, giving the track its gritty dance-floor energy. Wilson’s voice is a weapon deployed in full: a shouted introduction, a smooth croon, guttural squeals, and playful scatting. He turns the word “Reet” into an impossible tongue-twister and stretches “fine” into a five-syllable declaration of love. The arrangement, produced by Dick Jacobs, captures an authenticity that makes you feel like you are standing in a packed club watching a giant give everything to the microphone.
“The royalty check from this two-minute storm of pure, unfettered joy became the cornerstone of a musical empire.”
The song’s legacy is twofold. It marked Wilson’s solo birth as a performer who would define soul and R&B. And it provided the seed money that allowed Berry Gordy to transform a small Detroit label into a global powerhouse. The single was included on Wilson’s debut album He’s So Fine the following year, but its impact came as a standalone explosion. Nearly three decades later, when the claymation video introduced the track to a new generation weaned on synthesizers, it proved that raw analog adrenaline still had power. Listeners today need premium audio to hear the layers of brass, the subtle guitar flourish, and the incredible texture of Wilson’s vocal gymnastics.
“Reet Petite” is a complete miniature universe: the legend’s solo debut, the spark of Motown, and a timeless, joyful noise wrapped in two minutes and forty seconds. Turn it up. Let Mr. Excitement take the stage.
Listening Recommendations
Little Richard – “Good Golly Miss Molly” (1958) offers a similar feeling of unrestrained, joyfully manic energy and a voice pushing past all sensible limits.
Ray Charles – “Mess Around” (1953) shares the driving, barrelhouse piano rhythm and the sense of playful, high-energy R&B shouting.
Sam Cooke – “Twistin’ the Night Away” (1962) captures the smooth, sophisticated swagger and a similar lyrical focus on celebratory dance and romance.
Solomon Burke – “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” (1964) features a high-velocity, gospel-infused vocal delivery and powerful, driving brass and rhythm section arrangement.
Louis Jordan – “Caldonia” (1945) is a foundational jump blues track that predates “Reet Petite,” sharing the fast tempo, big brass, and witty, enthusiastic vocal style.
The Contours – “Do You Love Me” (1962) exhibits the raw, frantic energy of early Motown, before the polish, which shares the foundational fire lit by the Gordy/Wilson collaboration.