Little Richard part one

Rock Around The Clock may have been the defining song for Rock'n'Roll and Elvis Presley R'n'R's poster boy and ultimate legend, but there have been others who belong to the higher echelons of the pioneers as well: Louis Jordan, Fats Domino and Ray Charles laid the foundations, each bringing a distinctive sound: Jordan brought in Swing & Jazz, Domino brought the New Orleans music and Charles brought R&B and Gospel. Then came Chuck Berry who brought in the Blues, his guitar riffs and the imagery of fast cars and easy girls: Jerry Lee Lewis who brought in Country and his killer piano: Carl Perkins who gave us the purest commercial Rockabilly: Buddy Holly who brought in a Pop sensibility, combined with fine harmonies and great songs. But it was the guy who will be under our spotlight today that gave R'n'R its energy and its lunacy, as well as its glamour and campiness. That guy is Richard Penniman, otherwise known as Little Richard.

Little Richard was born in Macon Georgia in 1932, the third of 12 children in a highly religious family. In childhood, he was nicknamed "Lil' Richard" by his family, because of his small and skinny frame. Because one of his legs was shorter than the other, he had an unusual gait and was mocked for being allegedly effeminate.

Little Richard's initial musical influences came from Gospel. On October 27, 1947, Sister Rosetta Tharpe (one of Gospel's most prominent artists) heard 14-year-old Little Richard singing two of her gospel recordings before her concert at Macon City Auditorium. Tharpe was so impressed that she invited him to sing onstage during the concert. The crowd cheered, and Tharpe paid him for his performance.

Here's Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Rock Me:

Little Richard was hooked on performing for a living after that. He began singing with traveling shows that came through town and was losing interest in school. He would sing to draw people to the local town prophet and spiritualist, Doctor Nubilio, who wore a turban and a colorful cape, carried a black stick and exhibited something he called "the devil's child" – the dried-up body of a baby with claw feet like a bird and horns on its head. Nubilio told Little Richard that he was "gonna be famous" but that he would have to "go where the grass is greener." Because of problems at home and school and associations in the community, Little Richard left and joined Dr. Hudson's Medicine Show in 1948, performing Louis Jordan's Caldonia. Little Richard recalled the song was the first secular R&B song he learned, since his family had strict rules against playing R&B music, which they considered "devil music."

Here's Caldonia by Louis Jordan:

Little Richard soon joined his first musical band, Buster Brown's Orchestra. While performing with the band, he began using the name Little Richard. After his tenure with the band ended in 1950, Little Richard began performing for various vaudeville groups, earning a reputation as a drag performer. About this time, Little Richard began listening more to R&B and frequented Atlanta clubs, where he heard Billy Wright perform. Heavily influenced by Wright's flamboyant persona and showmanship, Little Richard began performing as a solo artist, gaining notoriety for high-energy onstage antics. He eventually befriended Wright who, in 1951, put Little Richard in contact with his manager, Zenas Sears, a local DJ. Sears recorded Little Richard at his station, backed by Wright's band. The recordings led to a contract with RCA, for whom he recorded a total of 4 singles, but commercial success didn't happen, so Richard left RCA in 1952.

Please Have Mercy on Me was the 4th single and came out in 1952. It's possibly my favorite of his pre-fame recordings:

Eventually, in 1955, Little Richard signed with Specialty Records. The company felt Little Richard was Specialty's answer to Ray Charles, but Richard said that preferred the sound of Fats Domino. As a result, he began recording in New Orleans. The initial cuts failed to produce anything that would inspire huge sales, and Little Richard and his producer took a break at a club called the Dew Drop Inn. While there, Little Richard performed a risqué song he had improvised from his days on the club circuit called Tutti Frutti.

The original lyrics, in which "Tutti Frutti" referred to a gay man, were:

"Tutti Frutti, good booty

If it don't fit, don't force it

You can grease it, make it easy"

"Tutti Frutti, good booty

If it's tight, it's all right

And if it's greasy, it makes it easy"

Naturally, the record company wanted different content, so they assigned local lyricist Dorothy LaBostrie to "straightwash" the lyrics. They did keep the opening cry of "A-wop-bom-a-loo-mop-a-lomp-bom-bom!", which was a verbal rendition of a drum pattern that Little Richard had imagined. The song was recorded on September 14, 1955, in only in three takes, taking about 15 minutes, with the original piano part.

The song was an instant hit, making #2 in the US R&B chart and #17 in the Hot 100, eventually selling more than one million copies. In the meantime, Pat Boone's insipid version made #12 in the Hot 100. As Richard later said to the Washington Post: "They didn’t want me to be in the white guys' way. ... I felt I was pushed into a rhythm and blues corner to keep out of rockers' way, because that’s where the money is. When 'Tutti Frutti' came out. ... They needed a rock star to block me out of white homes because I was a hero to white kids. The white kids would have Pat Boone upon the dresser and me in the drawer 'cause they liked my version better, but the families didn't want me because of the image that I was projecting."

In the course of the history of music, everybody that was somebody performed the song: Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Elton John, Queen, Sting and so many others.

In 2007, an eclectic panel of renowned recording artists voted "Tutti Frutti" No. 1 on Mojo's The Top 100 Records That Changed The World, hailing the recording as "the sound of the birth of Rock'n'Roll." In 2010, the US Library of Congress added the recording to its registry, claiming the "unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music". In 2012, Rolling Stone magazine declared that the song "still contains what has to be considered the most inspired rock lyric ever recorded: 'A-wop-bom-a-loo-mop-a-lomp-bom-bom!!'"

Here's Little Richard singing one of Rock's greatest songs. A song that we can claim as our own.

More on Little Richard's career and personal life tomorrow.