All About Little Richard Movie Lists All About Little Richard Little Richard was the most exciting and dynamic musical figure that the world had ever seen up to that point. Article by: Bruce LITTLE RICHARD - BRIEF OVERVIEW: Richard Wayne Penniman, born on December 5th, 1932 in Macon, Georgia, and still going strong now at the age of 75 in 2008. One of the pivotal figures in the explosion of rock and roll onto the scene in the 1950s. In November of 1955 his first single for Specialty Records entered the R&B charts, a song called "Tutti-Frutti," and it sounded like nothing that anybody had ever heard before. Little Richard was the most exciting and dynamic musical figure that the world had ever seen up to that point. Compared to most of the other records of the day, "Tutti-Frutti" was like an atomic bomb exploding. Over the course of the next three years Richard released several of the greatest rock and roll records ever made, and established himself as the most radical of all of the rock and roll superstars of the day.

Most adults in those days thought that his music was absolutely barbaric, and to top it off, he regularly wore makeup on stage, had a wild hairdo, and led a fairly open bisexual lifestyle for those days. After two wild years of sold out concerts, big hit records, movies, and incredible fame, in late 1957 Richard decided that he was quitting the rock and roll business and going into the ministry. Legend has it that he had been scared sick on a rough flight during an Australian tour. He supposedly tossed his expensive jewelry into the Sydney Harbor, and he quit the tour with a bunch of dates still left, reportedly missing out on about half a million dollars worth of receipts from the cancelled shows. For the next three years or so Specialty Records continued to release material that he had already recorded before his "retirement" from show business. A few years later he was back on the scene with a tour of England that brought out all of the English rock groups of the day to see one of their heroes.

He has been making live appearances on and off over the past 40 years or so, and in recent times he has reportedly sounded as good in his late 60s and early 70s as he did when he was in his 30s. LITTLE RICHARD'S PRIMARY INFLUENCES Louis Jordan. Billy Wright, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Fats Domino, Cab Calloway, Hot Lips Page, Cootie Williams, Piano Red, Lloyd Price, Percy Mayfield, Lucky Millinder, Larry Darnell, Esquerita.

ROCK AND ROLL ARTISTS INFLUENCED BY LITTLE RICHARD: Nearly every rock and roll artist who came after him was influenced by him, but here's a short list of artists who have recorded his songs - Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Kinks, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Bill Haley, Sam Cooke, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Mitch Ryder, Hollies, Swinging Blue Jeans, Chambers Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Isley Brothers, MC5, Queen, etc., etc., etc., ....Jimi Hendrix's first live appearances of note came as a guitarist in Little Richard's band, the Upsetters. ARTISTS WHO STARTED AS LITTLE RICHARD IMITATORS: James Brown, Otis Redding, Don Covay, Joe Tex, Larry Williams. All of these artists made records early in their careers where they were trying to sound like Little Richard. QUOTES ABOUT LITTLE RICHARD FROM OTHER ROCK AND ROLL ARTISTS: Paul McCartney - "The first song I ever sang in public was "Long Tall Sally." I love his voice and I always wanted to sing like him.

When the Beatles were first starting we performed with Richard in Liverpool and Hamburg, and we became close friends. Richard is one of the greatest kings of rock 'n' roll. Smokey Robinson - "Little Richard is the beginning of rock 'n' roll." Keith Richards - "The first time we realized we were on the same stage with LITTLE RICHARD in 1963, that seemed like the top of the world for us. That's as big a thrill as I've ever had. The most exciting moment of my life was appearing on the same stage as Little Richard." Mick Jagger - "I had heard so much about the audience reaction that I thought there must be some exaggeration. But it was all true. He drove the whole house into a complete frenzy. There's no single phrase to describe his hold on the audience. I couldn't believe the power of Little Richard on stage. He was amazing. Chuck Berry is my favorite, along with Bo (Diddley), but nobody could beat Little Richard's stage act. Little Richard is the originator and my first idol." Elvis Presley - "Your music has inspired me--you are the greatest" (1969).

John Lennon - "Elvis was bigger than religion in my life. Then this boy at school said that he'd got this record by somebody called Little Richard who was better than Elvis. The new record was Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally." When I heard it, it was so great I couldn't speak. I didn't want to leave Elvis, but this was so much better. Then someone said "It's a nigger singing." I didn't know Negroes sang. So Elvis was white and Little Richard was black. This was a great relief. "Thank You God" I said. "There is a difference between them." (1970) Jimi Hendrix - "I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice." (1966) David Bowie - "After hearing Little Richard on record I bought a saxophone and came into the music business. Little Richard was my inspiration." James Brown - "Little Richard is my idol." Otis Redding - "If it hadn't been for Little Richard I wouldn't be here. I entered the music business because of Richard--he is my inspiration. I used to sing like Little Richard, his rock 'n' roll stuff, you know.

Richard has soul too. My present music has a lot of him in it. He did a number way back called "Directly From My Heart To You" which was the personification of soul." (1966) Janis Joplin - "I'd fly across the country to see Otis; I'd go see Little Richard anywhere. They work, they happen, they're electric, they're exciting, they sweat for you." (1969) Johnny Otis - "Little Richard is twice as important as the Beatles and Stones put together." SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY - SINGLES: Little Richard: The Very Best Of Little Richard (CD) – jpc The Very Best Of Little Richard CD CD (Compact Disc) Herkömmliche CD, die mit allen CD-Playern und Computerlaufwerken, aber auch mit den meisten SACD- oder Multiplayern abspielbar ist. Bewertung: Der Artikel Little Richard: The Very Best Of Little Richard wurde in den Warenkorb gelegt. Ihr Warenkorb enthält nun 1 Artikel im Wert von EUR 11,99.

Versandkosten (United States): EUR 12,99 Artikel merken Bestellnummer: 9998964 Erscheinungstermin: 21.8.2008 When Little Richard recorded "Tutti Frutti" in 1955 at Cosimo's Studio in New Orleans with A&R man Bumps Blackwell, rock 'n' roll was taken to a thrilling new level. The pounding piano, the high voice and trills, and the sexually suggestive lyrics catapulted the former Richard Penniman to the top of the charts and to legendary status. Now, Specialty Records (now owned by Concord Music Group) proudly presents The Very Best of Little Richard, a comprehensive 25-track compilation, and the first in 20 years to showcase all the Rock ‘n' Roll Hall of Famer's Specialty hits.

The collection also features an original pre-rock ‘n' roll demo, 1955's "Baby," plus a rousing live medley of "Ain't That a Shame / I Got a Woman"/"Tutti Frutti" recorded in Paris in 1964 and a rehearsal take of "Hound Dog" (1956). Billy Vera, himself a rock ‘n' roll and R&B veteran, wrote the liner notes. Little Richard's demo for Specialty Records president Art Rupe was reportedly a series of run-of-the-mill blues songs. Nevertheless, Rupe bought him out of his Duke / Peacock Records contract and sent him to New Orleans to work with Specialty's A&R man Bumps Blackwell. The all-star team of tenor saxman Lee Allen and drummer Earl Palmer were in place. But a hit just didn't emerge during their first recording session, so the team adjourned for lunch. While at lunch, Richard sat down at a piano and started singing a song called "Tutti Frutti, Good Bootie," a ribald ditty from his live set. Blackwell heard something different, and the lyrics were toned down a tad.

Back at Cosimo's studio, as fast as you could say "a-wop-bop-a-lu-bop-a-wop-bam-boom," a hit was born and so was a star. The follow-up, "Long Tall Sally," certified gold, and "Rip It Up" and "Ready Teddy" became a two-sided hit. As annotator Vera writes, "Between his hit records and his thrilling live performances, Little Richard has now become a bona fide rock ‘n' roll star, a hero to '50s teens and the epitome of crazy, man, crazy." And the hits just kept on coming: "Lucille," "Send Me Some Lovin'," "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Jenny Jenny" and "Keep A-Knockin'." However, while in flight during an Australian tour in 1957, Richard watched in horror as the airplane's engine caught fire. According to Vera's notes, "He vowed then and there to quit singing the devil's music and become a minister should he survive the ordeal." He survived, and jumped back and forth over the years between rock ‘n' roll and the ministry.

But by that point, Little Richard's hit-making streak had ended, and we can hear the lack of focus in a previously unissued rehearsal take of "Hound Dog." Little Richard remains a living legend, frequently appearing in movies and television commercials. But there was a chemistry at Specialty in the mid-‘50s that resulted in the rare energy you'll hear on The Very Best of Little Richard. No other label was ever able to match it. (concordmusicgroup.

com) Tracklisting Hörprobe Track 1: Tutti Frutti Tutti Frutti Hörprobe Track 2: Long Tall Sally Long Tall Sally Hörprobe Track 3: Good Golly Miss Molly Good Golly Miss Molly Hörprobe Track 4: Slippin' and Slidin'(Peepin' and Hidin') Slippin' and Slidin'(Peepin' and Hidin') 5 Hörprobe Track 5: Rip It Up Rip It Up Hörprobe Track 6: Ready Teddy Ready Teddy Hörprobe Track 8: She's Got It She's Got It Hörprobe Track 9: The Girl Can't Help It The Girl Can't Help It 10 Hörprobe Track 10: All Around The World All Around The World Hörprobe Track 12: Send Me Some Lovin' Send Me Some Lovin' Hörprobe Track 13: Jenny Jenny Jenny Jenny Hörprobe Track 14: Miss Ann Miss Ann Hörprobe Track 15: Keep A-Knockin' Keep A-Knockin' Hörprobe Track 16: Ooh! My Soul Ooh!

My Soul Hörprobe Track 17: True Fine Mama True Fine Mama Hörprobe Track 18: Baby Face Baby Face Hörprobe Track 19: Medley: Kansas City/ Hey Hey Hey Hey Medley: Kansas City/ Hey Hey Hey Hey 20 Hörprobe Track 20: By The Light Of The Silvery Moon By The Light Of The Silvery Moon 21 Hörprobe Track 21: Bama Lama Bama Loo Bama Lama Bama Loo Hörprobe Track 22: Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On (Rehersal Take) Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On (Rehersal Take) 23 Hörprobe Track 23: Hound Dog (Rehearsal Take) Hound Dog (Rehearsal Take) Hörprobe Track 24: Baby (Demo) Baby (Demo) Hörprobe Track 25: Medley: Ain't That A Shame/ I Got A Woman/ Tutti Frutti (Live) Medley: Ain't That A Shame/ I Got A Woman/ Tutti Frutti (Live) Little Richard - Long Tall Sally - YouTube Little Richard -

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Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Nov 18, 2008 Little Richard - Long Tall Sally Category Little Richard facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Little Richard Sources Little Richard Penniman is a rock and roll pioneer in every sense of the word. Rock’s first certified zany, he brought outlandish clothes and hairstyles to the national stage for the first time, astonishing 1950s audiences with his brazen homosexual campiness. Mere stage appeal does not account for Richard’s wide cross-racial appeal, however. As Arnold Shaw notes in The Rockin’ ’50s, the artist “sang with an intensity and frenzy and commitment that marked the outer limits of rock’n’roll….

He was excitement in motion, a whirling dervish at the keyboard, showmanship royale in eye-dazzling costumes topped by a high, slick pompadour of hair.” From the scat-singing prologue of “Tutti-Frutti” to his favorite expression, “Ooh, my soul!,” Richard brought a new level of intensity—an unlikely pastiche of gospel and sexual innuendo—to popular music. A People magazine contributor wrote: “No performer deserves more credit for the metamorphosis of black rhythm and blues into rock ’n’ roll.” In The Dave Given Rock ‘n’ Roll Stars Handbook, author Given claims that Richard “gave R&R its meaning, its depth, and in so doing he inspired the careers of other great artists that followed: James Brown, Elvis, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Joe Tex, just to name a few.” Nor did Richard’s influence end with the first generation of rockers. Many groups of the British Invasion, including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, also looked to him as a mentor. According to Jay Cocks in Time, Richard “let blast with rock of such demented power, … that he seemed possessed of darkling forces….

Songs that sounded like nonsense … but whose beat seemed to hint of unearthly pleasures centered somewhere between the gut and the gutter.” Richard Wayne Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1932 (some sources say 1935). He was the third of twelve children, and the only child in his family with a physical defect—his right leg is shorter than his left. From earliest childhood he was marked as “different” by his effeminacy, as he explained in a Rolling Stone interview: “The boys would want to fight me because I didn’t like to be with them. I wanted to play with the girls. See, I felt like a girl.” In the hope of curing his physical ailment—and curbing his behavior—Richard’s mother enrolled him in a charismatic Baptist church in Macon. There, at the age of ten, he started a gospel group called the Tiny Tots Quartet. This experience filled him with the desire to be a professional gospel singer like his hero, Brother Joe May, the “Thunderbolt of the Midwest.” Richard’s religious fervor was not lasting, however. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade and joined a travelling medicine show.

Then he hired on with Sugarfoot For the Record… Real name, Richard Wayne Penniman; born December 5, 1932 (some sources say 1935), in Macon, Ga.; son of Charles (a bricklayer and printer) and Leva Mae Penniman. Education: Attended Oakwood Bible School, Huntsville, Ala. Performing artist, 1948–57, 1960–76, and 1986—. Appeared with “Sugarfoot Sam” minstrel show, c 1949; recorded with RCA Records, 1951, Peacock Records, 1952, and Specialty Records, 1955-59. Appeared in motion pictures, including “The Girl Can’t Help It,” 1956, “Rock Around the Clock,” 1956, and “Mr. Rock ‘n’ Roll,” 1957. Regular panel member of TV game show “Hollywood Squares,” 1988—. Awards: Charter member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Addresses: c/o 8383 Wilshire Blvd.

#900, Beverly Hills CA 90211. Sam, a minstrel show, where he occasionally donned a dress and danced with the chorus girls. It was during this period that he met Billy Wright, a popular postwar black performer. “Billy was an entertainer who wore very loud-colored clothing, and he wore his hair curled, “Richard told Rolling Stone. “I thought he was the most fantastic entertainer I had ever seen.” As early as 1951 Richard cut his first recordings, having won a rhythm and blues talent contest at Atlanta’s Eighty One Theatre. The songs, “Get Rich Quick,” “Why Did You Leave Me,” “Every Hour,” and “Thinkin’ ‘bout My Mother,” did not sell. Optimistically, Richard cut four more sides of the same blues/boogie-type material, and it likewise failed. He returned to Macon with his band, the Upsetters, and half-heartedly sent a demo tape to Art Rupe of Specialty Records in Los Angeles. That tape languished at Specialty for almost a year, during which time Richard garnished his live act with various outrageous spectacles.

Rupe, it turned out, was looking for another black singer with a Ray Charles sound, and eventually Richard’s tape came to him for review. He invited the young rocker to cut some songs in New Orleans. At first Richard began taping the same kind of blues-oriented songs he had been recording, but during a break he launched into a raucous song of his own invention, “Tutti Frutti,” that contained the memorable line “A-Wop-Bop-A-Loo-Bop, A-Lop-Bam-Boom.” Rupe was captivated. He ordered new lyrics (to replace Richard’s frankly sexual ones), and released the song just before Christmas in 1955. It was resting at number 21 on the charts by the end of December. “Many white kids had never heard a black man singing with the ‘brakes off,’ writes Stuart Colman in They Kept On Rockin’.”But when Tutti Frutti was released, … several white stations thought the time was right and showed no hesitation in programming the disc….

From that point on there began a hit trail of some of the classiest, black rock ’n’ roll records that America and the world would ever see.” Even though Richard sometimes had to watch other performers (like Pat Boone) score with his material, he did not lack for top hits himself. Backed by the best studio musicians and his own inimitably vigorous piano playing, Richard soon had chart-toppers with “Long Tall Sally,” “Rip It Up,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” “Lucille,” “The Girl Can’t Help It,” “Jenny, Jenny,” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly.”Rolling Stone corespondent Gerri Hirshey noted that onstage and in the movies, Richard “was compelled to invent his particular brand of majesty. This was Little Richard, ‘Handsomest Man in Rock & Roll.’ His image was an immaculate conception, a fantasy born of years in travelling medicine shows, drag-queen revues, churches and clubs…. Butin Fifties America, this made for a terrible mess. He was black and gay, talented and loud, and worse—much worse—absolutely sure of himself.” Teens of both races loved the audacious Richard.

No one was prepared, therefore, for his sudden abandonment of fame and fortune to study the Bible at a Seventh-day Adventist seminary. In 1957 Richard vowed never to sing rock ’n’ roll again—some say an airplane malfunction frightened him into a conversion; another story has it that he interpreted the Soviet launching of Sputnik as a sign that rock and roll was evil and that he should quit performing. The Bible studies did not occupy Richard too long, though. By the early 1960s he was back on tour, this time in England with an unknown group called the Beatles. By his account in Rolling Stone, Richard not only taught his musical British admirers some of his falsetto voice stunts and riffs, he also had an opportunity to buy a 50 percent share of the group. He was a musician, not a businessman, so he passed on the Beatles’ offer and returned to America to launch his own comeback. For roughly twelve years Richard performed his old hits and—less successfully—new material to audiences hungry for classic rock. Then, in the mid-1970s, the lifestyle again began taking its toll.

Richard told Rolling Stone: “I was getting deeper and deeper into drugs. All I wanted to do was to have sex with beautiful women and get high. I spent thousands of dollars getting high.” He missed engagements, or performed poorly, and eventually was overcome by the conflicts of his bisexual personality. Once again he turned to the church, becoming an evangelist preacher and Bible salesman. Little Richard renounced his strict religion early in 1988 and began to perform again, in a more subdued manner. He has had no trouble lining up engagements, even though he no longer decks himself in mirror-studded jackets, eyeliner, and tie-dyed headbands. Had he never taken the stage again, he would still have enjoyed a prominent place in the pantheon of rock ‘n’ roll legends. Hirshey sums up his career: “Little Richard bent gender, upset segregationist fault lines and founded a tradition of rock dadaists devoted to the art of self-creation. But unlike the studied incarnations, … Richard never seemed to think about it.

He went, with the inspiration of the moment, be it divine or hormonal, and caromed like a shiny, cracked pinball between God, sex and rock & roll.” “Long Tall Sally,” Specialty, March, 1956. “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” Specialty, March, 1956. “Rip It Up,” Specialty, June, 1956. “The Girl Can’t Help It,” Specialty, January, 1957. “Lucille,” Specialty, March, 1957. “Jenny, Jenny,” Specialty, June, 1957. “Keep a Knockin’,” Specialty, September, 1957. “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” Specialty, January, 1958. LPs Here’s Little Richard, Specialty, 1958. Little Richard 2, Specialty, 1958. The Fabulous Little Richard, Specialty, 1959. Well Alright, Specialty, 1959. Little Richard’s Greatest Hits, Joy, 1964. Coming Home, Coral, 1964.

Little Richard Sings Freedom Songs, Crown, 1964. King of Gospel Songs, Mercury, 1965. Wild & Frantic, Modern, 1965. Greatest Hits, Live, Okeh, 1967. The Explosive Little Richard, Okeh, 1967. Every Hour with Little Richard, RCA, 1970. The Rill Thing, Reprise, 1971. King of Rock n Roll, Reprise, 1971. Second Coming, Reprise, 1971. Little Richard’s Greatest Hits, Trip, 1972. The Very Best of Little Richard, United Artists, 1975. Lifetime Friend, Warner Brothers, 1987. 22 Classic Cuts, Ace, 1987. (With Billy Wright)Hey Baby, Don’t You Want a Man Like Me?, Ace, 1987. Shut Up!: A Collection of Rare Tracks, 1951-1964, Rhino, 1988.

Also recorded Biggest Hits, Specialty;Greatest Hits, Specialty;Little Richard Is Back, Vee Jay; Mr. Big, Joy;Rip It Up, Joy;Slippin’ & Slidin’, Joy;The Little Richard Story, Joy;Little Richard Sings, Twentieth Century;Little Richard, Kama Sutra;Best of Little Richard, Scepter;Little Richard Sings Spirituals, United;Right Now, United;Keep a Knockin’, Rhapsody;King of Gospel Singers, Wing;Clap Your Hands, Spinorama;Little Richard Rocks, RCA;Little Richard, Camden;Grooviest 17 Original Hits, Specialty;Rock King, JEM Classic Series; and Talkin’ ‘Bout Soul, Vee Jay. Sources “Image not available for copyright reasons” Before there was Prince, before there was Michael Jackson, before androgyny was hip, and most certainly before Paul McCartney induced his first teeny-bopper swoon with a falsetto whoop, there was Little Richard. A true rock and roll trailblazer, Little Richard was one of the first performers to unleash the full savage beauty of rock in its most uninhibited form.

His manic piano style and his fevered—sometimes nonsensical—vocals taught two generations (and counting) of rock fans what it meant to really cut loose. The joyous abandon of Little Richard’s approach has delighted audiences worldwide for decades, and served as inspiration for countless rockers over the years, including such notables as the Beatles and Rolling Stones. Little Richard was born Richard Wayne Penniman on December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia . The third of twelve children, Richard was a somewhat weak and slightly malformed child, with one leg shorter than the other, an oversized head, and one eye larger than the other. From a very early age, he preferred the company of girls to boys, and the other boys often taunted him for his effeminate manner. In spite of the teasing, Richard was a confident child. His mother remembered him as a prankster with a quick mind and strong will. Sang Gospel as a Tot In hopes of harnessing his excess energy, Richard’s mother sent him to the local charismatic Baptist church. By the time he was ten, Richard’s main aspiration was to become a preacher.

He was intrigued by Pentecostal practices such as speaking in tongues and healing by the laying of hands on sick people. The church also gave Richard an outlet for his natural singing skills. He began performing gospel songs first as a member of a children’s group called the Tiny Tots, and later he performed with some of his siblings as the Penniman Singers at churches and revivals throughout the area. By his early teens, Richard’s passion for the church had waned. Meanwhile, he was not working very hard to conceal his homosexuality, much to the dismay of his father and the delight of local gossipmongers. Completely uninterested in school, Richard dropped out during ninth grade. He left home and began traveling across Georgia with a series of vaudeville shows and other itinerant troupes, including Sugarfoot Sam from Alabama ; the At a Glance… Bom Richard Wayne Penniman, December 5, 1932, in Macon, G A; son of Charles (a brickmason and bar owner) and LevaMae Penniman; married ErnestineCampbell, 1959 (div.

1961).Education: Attended OakwoodCollege, Huntsville Religion: Christian, with a brief detour into Judaism . Performing artist, 1948-57,1960-76, and 1986-; appeared with “SugarfootSam” minstrel show, c. 1949; recorded with RCA Records, 1951, Peacock Records, 1952, and Specialty Records, 1955-59; appeared in several motion pictures, including The Girl Can’t Help it, 1956;Rock Around the Clock, 1956; Mr.Rock’n’Roll, 1974;and Down and Out in Beverly Hills, 1986; Black Heritage Bible, salesman, 1977; minister, Universal RemnantChurch of God ; numerous television appearances. Awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, charter member; received star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, 1990; Little Richard Day recognized, Los Angeles , 1990; National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, lifetime achievement award, 1993.

Addresses: Agent— William Morris Agency, 151 E. El Camino Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90212. King Brothers Circus; and the Broadway Follies, which was based in Bailey’s 81 Theatre in Atlanta . Along the way he acquired the name Little Richard, as well as the trademark high-rise hairstyle and flamboyant stage persona that would remain with him for much of his career. While performing at Bailey’s 81 Theatre, Richard had the opportunity to meet a number of R&B stars who passed through town. One of them was Billy Wright, a major recording star of the late 1940s and early 1950s. Wright helped Richard get a recording contract with RCA, and in 1951 Richard recorded four songs backed by Wright’s band. One of them, “Every Hour,” was modestly successful on local radio, but overall the songs went nowhere. After several months of performing one-night stands around Macon, Richard returned to the studio in 1952 to record four more tracks for RCA. Again, they failed to sell.

Tasted Success with “Tutti Fratti” Richard spent the next couple of years refining his outrageous stage act in dives, while washing dishes to support himself. In 1954 Richard sent a tape of his band, the Upsetters, to Bumps Blackwell of Specialty Records. Blackwell convinced Specialty owner Art Rupe to bring Richard in for a recording session. At the session, Richard sang timidly, and Blackwell considered the idea a flop. He changed his mind, however, when during a break Richard launched into a raucous rendition of his original song “Tutti Frutti. “Blackwell realized then that Little Richard was the real thing. Within a month of its release, “Tutti Frutti” (with lyrics toned down from Richard’s original bawdy ones) sold 200,000 copies, and rose to number two on Billboard”s R&B chart. Over the next couple of years, Little Richard recorded a string of hits that reads like a list of rock’s greatest classics: “Long Tall Sally,” “Lucille,” and “Good Golly Miss Molly, “just to name a few.

What his lyrics lacked in comprehensibility, they more than made up for in raw energy. Now a star, Richard moved to Hollywood and bought a Cadillac, in spite of the fact that he had been pressured into signing a bad contract with Specialty that gave him a fraction of the income that he should have received from record sales. Even more frustrating was the fact that as good as his sales were, they paled in comparison to the numbers put up by white performers, like Pat Boone, for their versions of Richard’s songs. Quit Music to Preach In 1957, at the very peak of his fame, Richard shocked the music world by announcing that he was quitting rock and roll in order to devote his life to religion. He enrolled in Oakwood College, a Christian institution in Huntsville, Alabama, and traveled across the U.S. as an evangelist. He also recorded several albums of gospel music. By early 1960, however, the urge to rock had returned, and Richard embarked on a British tour. While in England , he made the acquaintance of an unknown band called the Beatles, with whom he forged a lasting friendship.

Back in the United States , Richard spent most of the 1960s toiling in semi-obscurity, and it took most of the decade for his comeback to really kick in. Gradually, he worked his way from dingy clubs into better venues. He played to enthusiastic crowds during several tours of Europe in the second half of the decade. Richard’s comeback was finally complete by 1969, capped by a rollicking performance at that year’s Atlantic City Pop Festival. As a new generation was introduced to Little Richard through their own rock heroes like the Rolling Stones, Richard was able to return to the charts with hits such as “Freedom Blues” in 1970, “Midnight Man” in 1971, and “Rockin’ With The King” in 1972. Jarred by Brother’s Death Along with this renewed success however, came a renewed passion for the high life. Richard delved headlong into a lifestyle that included heavy drinking, drug abuse, and all sorts of sexual follies. In 1975, startled by the death of his brother Tony, Richard again decided to leave show business and return to religion.

He kicked his drug habit and resumed the evangelical work he had begun twenty years earlier. Over the next several years he concentrated on preaching and selling Bibles. By the mid-1980s, Richard was ready to return, at least in part, to the secular business of entertaining people. In 1986 he released an album of religious-flavored pop songs called Lifetime Friend. He also appeared in the film Down and Out in Beverly Hills that year, and began showing up frequently in guest spots on television. As Little Richard continued to ping-pong between his alternating careers as preacher and screecher, the early 1990s found him in show-biz mode. His 1992 children’s album, Shake It All About, sold a quarter of a million copies. The following year he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, an honor he attained by actively campaigning for it. When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened in 1995, Little Richard was among its charter members. At the Cleveland facility’s grand opening, Richard emphasized that it was he and a handful of other black musicians who paved the way for the next forty years’ worth of rock stars.

“I am the architect of rock and roll, “he told the crowd. Few would disagree that he was, if not the architect, at least a key member of that sonic architectural firm. Selected discography Singles “Tutti-Frutti,” Specialty, 1955. “Long Tall Sally,” Specialty, 1956. “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” Specialty, 1956. “Rip It Up,” Specialty, 1956. “The Girl Can’t Help It,” Specialty, 1957. “Lucille,” Specialty, 1957. “Jenny, Jenny,” Specialty, 1957. “Keep a Knockin’,” Specialty, 1957. “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” Specialty, 1958. Albums Here’s Little Richard, Specialty, 1958. Little Richard 2, Specialty, 1958. The Fabulous Little Richard, Specialty, 1959. Well Alright, Specialty, 1959. Little Richard’s Greatest Hits, Joy, 1964.

Little Richard Sings Freedom Songs, Crown, 1964. King of Gospel Songs, Mercury, 1965. Wild and Frantic, Modern, 1965. Greatest Hits, Live, Okeh, 1967. Every Hour with Little Richard, RCA, 1970. The Rill Thing, Reprise, 1971. King of Rock n Roll, Reprise, 1971. Second Coming, Reprise, 1971. Little Richard’s Greatest Hits, Trip, 1972. The Very Best of Little Richard, United Artists, 1975. Lifetime Friend, Warner Brothers, 1987. 22 Classic Cuts, Ace, 1987. Shut Up!: A Collection of Rare Tracks, 1951-1964,Rhino, 1988. Shake It All About, 1992. Little Richard, Tutti Frutti - YouTube Little Richard, Tutti Frutti Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video?

Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Oct 15, 2008 Performance of "Tutti Frutti" in the 1956 Alan Freed film "Don't Knock the Rock." Category Gender Variance in the Arts: Little Richard (1932 – ) and his lyrics. Gender Variance in the Arts Little Richard (1932 – ) and his lyrics. Richard Wayne Penniman was a Rock-and-Roll singer/pianist and preacher. In his apprenticeship years, he had toured the southern US in a vaudeville show where he played in drag as Princess Lavonne, ‘the freak of the year’. Later, as he became famous as Little Richard from 1955, he performed with make-up, flamboyance, high pitched squeals, extravagant clothing and pompadour hairstyle. Little Richard was certainly out of line with the 1950s concept of masculinity. One of the pioneers of rock and roll, he was unique in purveying an androgynous image.

Two of his hit records have been taken to be about drag queens: bald-headed Sally, and Miss Molly who is addressed as ‘son’. The 18th-century mollies were of course transgendered. Good Golly Miss Molly From the early early mornin' to the early early night, When I caught miss Molly rockin' at the house of blue lights, Good golly miss Molly, sure like to ball, A-When you're rockin' and a rollin', can't hear your mama call. Mama, papa told me 'Son, you better watch your step', If'n your Papa's Mama had to watch my Papa's step , Good golly miss Molly, sure like to ball, A-When you're rockin' and a rollin', can't hear your mama call. Long Tall Sally Well, long tall Sally, she's built for speed, She's got everything that uncle John need, Oh baby, yes baby, woo baby, havin' me some fun tonight. Well, I saw uncle John with bald headed Sally, He saw aunt Mary coming and he ducked back in the alley, Oh baby, yes baby, woo baby, havin' me some fun tonight.

W.T Lhamon writes: “Traditional black folk figures scamper through this song in scandalous antics. Uncle John is a stock figure in black lore from the ‘John cycle’ of tales about a slave who outwits the authorities. On this level, the song’s Aunt Mary is a good wife … But ‘Aunt Mary’ is also gay argot for a possessive queen. So she operates on at least two levels, apparent nurturer and drag possessor. In any case, Uncle John in this song is ducking out on Aunt Mary’s authority, whatever she represents. It’s Long Tall sally, ‘built for speed,’ who ‘got everything that Uncle John need.’ But where did Sally come from? Nightmare to to every Aunt Mary, Sally is the newly noticed, old, subtraditional freak. Not only long, tall, and speedy, she’s ‘bald-headed.’ As such, she’s figuratively phallic, flashing in and out of alleys in the hand of Uncle John, that trickster. That is attractive enough in the male-bonding context of the studio where all this cropped up mutually among these men, but there is more.

In the transvestite shows of Little Richard’s apprenticeship, baldheadedness was preparation for one’s wigs… Long Tall Sally, in addition to her other meanings, is therefore a transvestite fantasy figure slipping and and sliding through life’s niches. … A transsexual variant of Sambo, and just like this new rock form which her surfacing embodied at this mid-fifties moment of family breakdown, she represents whatever anyone wishes her to represent.” Richard Penniman is also an ordained born-again Christian. As a reverend, he married Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. He was one of the first seven inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Marjorie Garber. Vested Interests: Cross-dressing and Cultural Anxiety . Routledge. 1992: 302-3 Wayne Studer. Rock on the Wild Side: Gay Male Images in Popular Music of the Rock Era. Layland Publications. 1994: p135.

Question: Who had hit records with "Long Tall Sally" and "Good Golly Miss Molly"?
Answer: Little Richard