Little Milton’s ‘We’re Gonna Make It’ Joins Chess Records’ Acoustic Sounds Series
The blues guitarist and singer-songwriter’s celebrated 1965 album has been remastered in high fidelity from original analog tapes.
Mississippi-born guitarist and singer-songwriter Little Milton’s We’re Gonna Make It is the latest release to join Chess Records’ Acoustic Sounds series. A new, high-fidelity reissue of the 1965 album, remastered from original analog tapes, is now available for pre-order this week via the archival Chicago label.
We’re Gonna Make It marked the first full-length LP Little Milton brought to Chess after signing with its Checker imprint in the early 1960s. The title track, which would go on to become an R&B hit and top the charts for three weeks straight, was a clear and unsparing ode to the burgeoning civil rights movement which, much like Milton’s music itself, was gaining traction with Americans across demographics and geographical areas. The song still stands as the only Top 40 entry Milton charted during his career, and it was notably reinterpreted decades later by Millie Jackson, who included a cover of the song on her 1982 album Hard Times.
Other standouts across We’re Gonna Make It include “Who’s Cheating Who?” “Blind Man,” and “Stand By Me.” Following its release, Milton would record three more albums for Checker, concluding with 1970’s If Walls Could Talk. After departing the label, Milton would bounce between imprints including Stax, Glades, and MCA for a few years before landing back home at Mississippi-based label Malaco, where he would release consistently until the early 2000s. He died in 2005 at the age of 70 due to complications following a stroke.
The Chess Records Acoustic Sounds Series is dedicated to bringing back classic entries in the label’s catalog for new and old listeners alike to enjoy today. Each reissue is pressed on 180g vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and packaged in gatefold sleeves printed on high-grade board. Some of the records already in the collection include Howlin’ Wolf’s Moanin’ in the Moonlight, Muddy Waters’ The Best Of Muddy Waters, Etta James’ At Last, Chuck Berry’s Berry Is On Top, and Sonny Boy Williamson’s The Real Folk Blues.
