Reet Petite

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title: "Reet Petite" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1957-songs", "1957-singles", "1986-singles", "jackie-wilson-songs", "dutch-top-40-number-one-singles", "irish-singles-chart-number-one-singles", "number-one-singles-in-finland", "number-one-singles-in-the-netherlands", "ultratop-50-singles-(flanders)-number-one-singles", "uk-singles-chart-number-one-singles", "songs-written-by-berry-gordy", "songs-written-by-billy-davis-(songwriter)", "brunswick-records-singles", "christmas-number-one-singles-in-the-united-kingdom"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reet_Petite" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

Field	Value
name	Reet Petite
cover	Jackie Wilson Reet Petite.jpg
caption	Picture cover of 1986 reissue
type	single
artist	Jackie Wilson
album	He's So Fine
B-side	By the Light of the Silvery Moon
released	August 1957
length	2:40
label	Brunswick US (1957) 9-55024
Vogue Coral UK (1957) Q 72290
SMP UK (1985) SKM 3
BR Music Belgium (1985) 1245095
Columbia US (1987) 07329
Carrere France (1987) 72012
writer	Berry Gordy, Billy Davis, Gwen Gordy Fuqua
producer	Dick Jacobs
prev_title	One Moment with You
prev_year	1957
next_title	To Be Loved
next_year	1958
misc
::

"Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)" (originally subtitled "The Finest Girl You Ever Want to Meet") is a song written by Berry Gordy, Billy Davis, and Gwen Gordy Fuqua, and made popular by Jackie Wilson in his 1957 recording for the Brunswick label. It was his first solo hit after leaving the Dominoes and, over the years, has become one of his biggest international chart successes. It was the UK Christmas number one in 1986, almost three years after Wilson's death.

History

The song was written by Berry Gordy, Gwen Gordy Fuqua, and Wilson's cousin Roquel "Billy" Davis (though credited under his pseudonym Tyran Carlo on the record) and produced by Dick Jacobs, and its title was taken from the 1948 Louis Jordan song "Reet, Petite and Gone". (In jazz lingo, the term "reet" meant "fantastic".) It was Jackie Wilson's first recording as a solo artist. The song peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1957 and reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. With the success of the song, Gordy was able to fund the launch of Motown Records.

The song was reissued in 1986 following the showing of a clay animation video of Wilson singing the song on the BBC2 documentary series Arena. The video was directed by Giblets, a London-based animation studio. The reissued version proved so popular that in December 1986, almost three years after Wilson's death, the song became a number 1 in the UK for four weeks (selling over 700,000 copies) becoming that year's UK Christmas number one, 29 years after its chart debut.{{cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 470}}

Track lists

::data[format=table]

Side	Title	Length
Original release
A	"Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want to Meet)"	2:40
B	"By the Light of the Silvery Moon"	2:17
1986 re-release
A	"Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)"	2:40
B1	"You Brought about a Change in Me"	2:46
B2	"I'm the One to Do It"	2:34
::

Charts

Weekly charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (1957) | Peak position | US Best Sellers in Stores (The Billboard) | US Cash Box Top 60 | |---|---|---|---| | 62 | | | | | 45 | | | | ::

::data[format=table] | Chart (1986−1987) | Peak position | Australia (Kent Music Report) | Europe (European Hot 100 Singles) | Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) | Italy Airplay (Music & Media) | Spain (AFYVE) | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 20 | | | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | 13 | | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table]

Chart (1986)	Position	UK Singles (OCC)
17
::

::data[format=table]

Chart (1987)	Position	Belgium (Ultratop)	Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)	Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	Netherlands (Single Top 100)	New Zealand (RIANZ)	UK Singles (OCC)	West Germany (Media Control)
1
15
15
12
12
58
30
::

Certifications

Other versions

The song was recorded in September 1964 by Dinah Lee and reached the number 1 position in New Zealand and a number 6 position in Melbourne (Australia did not have a national chart at that time).

References

Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 nr.1 hits uit de Top 40, page 235, 9023009444 (Book in Dutch)
(January 22, 2021). "Jackie Wilson Said It Was Reet Petite". Medium.
"Show 25 – The Soul Reformation: Phase two, the Motown story. [Part 4]".
(2009-07-26). "NUMBER ONE'S OF THE EIGHTIES: 1986 Jackie Wilson: Reet Petite". Eightiesnumberones.blogspot.com.
"Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, November 9, 1957".
Kent, David. (1993). "[[Kent Music Report". Australian Chart Book.
(March 7, 1987). "European Hot 100 Singles".
(February 28, 1987). "Top 3 in Europe: Finland".
(4 April 1987). "European Playlist Reports: RAI - Italy".
(April 11, 1987). "Top 3 in Europe: Spain".
(January 24, 1987). "Top 100 Singles".
"Jaaroverzichten 1987". [[Ultratop]].
(December 26, 1987). "European Hot 100 Singles".
"Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1987". [[Dutch Top 40]].
"Jaaroverzichten – Single 1987". [[MegaCharts]].
"End of Year Charts 1987". [[Recorded Music NZ]].
(January 23, 1988). "Gallup Year End Charts 1987: Singles".
"Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1987". [[GfK Entertainment]].
"Long Way To The Top". Abc.net.au.
"Reet Petite - DINAH LEE (1964) - Pop Archives - Sources of Australian Pop Records from the 50s, 60s and 70s". Pop Archives.

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