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This is a great compilation. Little Richard's influence on rock n' roll and so many artists that came after him, from the Beatles to Elvis, to Prince can never be overstated. John & Paul idolized him, as can be evidenced whenever you hear them scream ("AAAA.", for example, in 'Hard Days Night' or "AAAAA.", during 'Revolution') in the early recordings. This cd puts it all into context.
Little Richard is so much more than just the crazy, loud-mouthed, flamboyant, grand old "architect of Rock-N-Roll" that we all know today. His persona was so flamboyant, so peacock, so flaming, with his honey-brown pancake makeup, beautifully coiffed and fingerwaved pompadour, pencil-thin moustache, mascara & eye-shadow that people (male, female, black, white or even martian). This man was a one man musical, sexual & cultural revolution.--A force of nature in a time which was very closed & uptight on so many levels.Enter young Richard Penniman from Macon, GA with his hot band rightly called "The Upsetters" and everything that was believed about race, gender, music, what was acceptable and not, all went out the window. His songs were filled with the fire and brimstone singing of old time black gospel (Marion Williams' high "Whoooo.")mixed with the boogie-woogie piano and rawkus blues shoutin' of a backwater moonshine swillin' jook joint.He could make a piano get up and walk across the room.Playing in the old rolling gospel/boogie-woogie style thatmixed angel & devil all together on the black & white keys.He took showmanship as it was known at that time and turned the volume up way past 10.--Often whipping the venues he played into such a frenzy that racial lines came down and black danced with white.--A DEFINITE NO-NO in that time. were overwhelmed by it and made to tingle in ways thatthey didn't know they could tingle.--Another DEFINITE NO-NO in that oppressive time.Aside from all that, his music (all contained in this great collection), simply could not be denied as tear-the-house-down ROCK-N-ROLL classics.Little Richard didn't just come in.HE BUTTED IN & BURNED DOWN ALL THE WALLS. When you think of a young black kid out of the jim crow south who was reviled as a sissy and a freak in his own community and as a low-down ni*$#r in the white community, you realize what sheer guts & balls it must've took just for this guy to wake up and go outside every day.--Let alone write and perform some of the rawest & funkiest rock-n-roll ever.All of this was 25 to 30 yrs before David Bowie's gender-bending "Ziggy Stardust" wowed early 70's rock audiences, Freddie Mercury's "Killer Queen" antics, Prince's 80's "Revolution" or Sylvester and Boy George's androgynous cultural paradigm-shifting careers ignited whole new generations to the fact that you could be outrageous, different, and completely left-of-center and still rock the world.--There's so much more to this guy than meets the eye.--Learn about him.Now in 2009, as failing health has now limited his visibility inthe public eye, he nears his 77th Birthday in relative quiet,but as long as "Tutti-Frutti", "Rip It Up", "Long-Tall Sally","Lucille", "The Girl Can't Help It" and others ring out.Little Richard's legacy will never be forgotten.
simply the best one on the market right now; undisputed. I'm not going to try to persuade you into liking little richard, he will do that for himself
A couple of months later another # 1 R&B surfaced in the form of Rip It Up, also # 17 Top 100, while its B-side, Ready Teddy, made it to # 8 R&B/# 44 Top 100.Cover versions of his hits to date were popping up all over the place as well, by Pat Boone, Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & His Comets, while major stars to come like Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and four young Englishmen named John, Paul, George and Ringo were being suitably influenced.It's a bit strange, then, that his next hit, Heeby-Jeebies b/w She's Got It, impacted only upon the R&B charts in November 1956, reaching # 7 and # 9 respectively, and that The Girl Can't Help It, featured in the Jayne Mansfield film of the same name, could only achieve a # 49 Top 100 while hitting # 7 on the R&B charts. Rock 'n' Roll, starring Alan Freed.In early 1958 Richard honoured Jackie Brenston by basing his piano intro on his legendary hit Rocket "88" from 1951, and saw Good Golly, Miss Molly top out at # 4 R&B/# 10 Top 100 b/w the uncharted (unbelievably so) Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey. That dramatic debut was following in the spring of 1956 by Long Tall Sally which hit # 1 R&B and stayed there for 8 weeks, as well as # 6 Top 100, while the flipside, Slippin' And Slidin' (Peepin' And Hidin') reached # 2 R&B/# 33 Top 100. If you don't want to spring for the 3-CD Specialty Sessions Box Set, which is easily THE best Little Richard compendium on the market, then this volume from the Legends Of Specialty series is your next best option. The B-side, Lonesome And Blue, is omitted here.Other gems in this release include Baby, recorded in September 1955, and Oh Why. The A-side was also featured in the film Mr.
His second-best Pop cross-over then appeared late that summer when Keep A Knockin' hit # 8 Top 100 as well as # 2 R&B b/w the uncharted Can't Believe You Wanna Leave.
The B-side, All Around The World, also scored at # 13 R&B.
My Soul got to # 15 R&B/# 31 Top 100 b/w True Fine Mama, regarded as a # 15 R&B "follow-along" hit while also reaching # 68 Top 100.Omitted from this volume is Baby Face, which reached # 12 R&B/# 41 Top 100 in October 1958 b/w the uncharted I'll Never Let You Go.
Magnificent AAD sound reproduction is featured on all 16 of his hits from 1956 to June 1958, plus the four uncharted B-sides in that period, along with one hit from 1959, two cuts that appeared in early LP/EPs, and two that were issued years later as singles, but failed to chart.All this is augmented by an insert containing numerous vintage photos, six pages of background notes written in 1991 by Billy Vera, a sessionography for each of the tracks showing dates recorded and musicians involved, plus on the reverse of the CD a discography of the contents.This original inductee into the R&R Hall Of Fame in 1986 first hit the charts in late 1955 when Tutti-Frutti exploded onto the charts, reaching # 2 R&B/# 17 Billboard Pop Top 100 b/w I'm Just A Lonely Guy.
That summer, Ooh.
It seems mainstream white DJs didn't know quite how to take this energetic, flamboyant new star and were therefore not giving him the airplay he deserved.
That was born out in early 1957 when his third # 1 R&B, Lucille, could only get as high as # 21 Top 100, and the B-side, Send Me Some Lovin', just a # 54 Top 100 while reaching # 3 R&B.All his hits to this point had been billed to Little Richard And His Band, but from this point on the billing would be simply Little Richard, beginning with Jenny, Jenny (# 2 R&B/# 10 Top 100) b/w Miss Ann (# 6 R&B/# 56 Top 100) in July 1957.
They do, however, include his rendition of Kansas City, recorded on November 29, 1955 well before the the Thurston Harris hit, but not released until spring 1959 in a medley with Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey, reaching # 95 on what had then become the Billboard Pop Hot 100.
which was recorded in February 1956, both released that year on LP 100 as well as a Specialty EP, Shake A Hand, recorded in August 1956, and Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, recorded in October 1957, the last two not released until 1959 when they came out on singles that failed to chart.It's interesting to note that everything Little Richard recorded for Specialty took place from September 14, 1955 to October 18, 1957.
This CD is a must-have for anyone who loves fun, danceable, and wild rock'n'roll. I would put him way up at the top as one of the great innovaters, originators, and exremely important influences in the history of rock'n'roll. This is probably the best collection of Richard Penniman's Specialty label songs you'd want on a CD. So get this CD and rock your socks off. So many people covered his songs over the years. From Elvis to the Beatles to even Pat Boone and Marty Robbins. As a note, I also recommend seeking out reissues of his earlier music recorded roughly between 1951-1954. A truly great pianist, songwriter, singer and arranger.
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