Songfacts®:

• This was Etta James' first hit, topping the US R&B chart for 4 weeks. Originally the name of the song was "Roll With Me, Henry" but it was changed to "The Wallflower" to avoid censorship. The track is also known as "Dance With Me, Henry."
• Johnny Otis produced the song. He was the man who gave the singer her stage moniker by reversing her Christian name Jamesetta into Etta James. "You can't be 'Jamesetta Hawkins,' he said. Otis died on January 17, 2012, preceding James' passing by three days.
• This song was written by James, Johnny Otis and Hank Ballard as an answer to the latter's hit single "Work With Me, Annie" - the two tunes share the same 12-bar blues melody. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters later released an answer song to the answer song titled "Henry's Got Flat Feet (Can't Dance No More)."
• The song features uncredited vocal responses from Richard Berry, who is best known as the composer and original performer of the rock standard "Louie Louie." During the 1950s, Berry performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups, including The Flairs and The Robins.
• The Pop singer Georgia Gibbs recorded a version of James' song under the title "Dance With Me Henry (The Wallflower)." It became a crossover hit, reaching #1 on the pop charts, which is said to have irritated James.
• The song featured in Back to The Future during one of the diner scenes. It also was included on the Sister Act soundtrack.
• This song won a Grammy Hall Of Fame award in 2008, the second recording by Etta James to do so following "At Last."