BCB 100 - Little Richard

[geoffcowgill]

How in the world did 1950s Eisenhour honky America deal with Little Richard?

I've got a comp of his Specialty stuff called The Georgia Peach. I imagine he wasn't much of an album artist, but maybe some of you have beloved titles. What it really boils down to is which whoopin', hollerin', rollickin' slice of two and a half minute rock and soul most stretches your smile.

Favorite Song - "Lucille"

[Bungo the Mungo]

For me, perhaps the greatest of all the old-school rock and rollers, and the one who still sounds sort of shocking.

Brilliant OTT showmanship, mad vocal shrieking, and ace songs.

song: Keep A-Knockin'

[B]

Song: The Girl Can't Help It

[toomanyhatz]

He was the first glam rocker, wasn't he?

For me, perhaps the greatest of all the old-school rock and rollers, and the one who still sounds sort of shocking.
Brilliant OTT showmanship, mad vocal shrieking, and ace songs.

On a gut level, I can appreciate this. And I'm sure there were plenty of people who thought he was just the worst thing ever to happen to music, so there's no doubting his punk credentials. But for me, although his early hits are great, he doesn't resonate as much song-wise as any other major 50s rocker- Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, even Elvis- all more influential, better songwriters (well, not Elvis) and arguably better singers. And Jerry Lee and Charlie Rich (not to even speak of Ray Charles who was leagues ahead) are better piano players. But he was certainly an original creation. Though there were copyists (Esquerita, anyone?) no one put it together in the same way before or sense.

An interesting question- who was more incendiary at the time- Elvis or Little Richard? I would say Elvis- because he was a white man copying a black style and bringing it to the masses. Little Richard being black, in the naive 50s mentality, was more easily dismissed- "oh, that's just how they are" - but was Elvis, who (again, filtering it through my vision of what the mentality was at the time) chose it, therefore more threatening?

And another question- is there anyone who doesn't find his shtick for the last 20 years or so incredibly tiring? I mean, if anybody's got the right to play Little Richard, it's him. But I wish he was a little less "on" all the time. He's probably got some interesting stories he could tell, if he'd just stop being Little Richard for a few minutes.

Song - The Girl Can't Help It - love how he sings "the girl can't hep it" right before the (white, I presume) background vocalists intone "she can't help it" enunciating as if they were in a speech class.

[sloopjohnc]

An interesting question- who was more incendiary at the time- Elvis or Little Richard? I would say Elvis- because he was a white man copying a black style and bringing it to the masses. Little Richard being black, in the naive 50s mentality, was more easily dismissed- "oh, that's just how they are"

You hit the nail on the head. Seeing a white man shaking like a black man must've been shocking. As Richard Pryor said, "That N****'s Crazy" was a prevailing attitude. As long as there were legal barriers there, white folks felt safe. Leave that Jungle Music to the black folks was okay, but as soon as Elvis did it, all hell broke loose.

But I disagree with you about Little Richard's songs. To paraphrase Little Richard, the white kids may have had their Pat Boone records out in the open, they had his under the pillow. I don't get tired of his songs like I don't get tired of The Ramones and Black Flag. He was a musical, fuckin' drag race.

He was glam, he was punk and even though some of his lyrics might have been nonsense, everyone knew what they meant.

Little Richard was a dangerous man.

Little Richard has one of my favorite transgressive quotes, "This ain't sweat, it's holy water."

[Davey the Fat Boy]

He was the first glam rocker, wasn't he?

For me, perhaps the greatest of all the old-school rock and rollers, and the one who still sounds sort of shocking.
Brilliant OTT showmanship, mad vocal shrieking, and ace songs.

On a gut level, I can appreciate this. And I'm sure there were plenty of people who thought he was just the worst thing ever to happen to music, so there's no doubting his punk credentials. But for me, although his early hits are great, he doesn't resonate as much song-wise as any other major 50s rocker- Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, even Elvis- all more influential, better songwriters (well, not Elvis) and arguably better singers. And Jerry Lee and Charlie Rich (not to even speak of Ray Charles who was leagues ahead) are better piano players. But he was certainly an original creation. Though there were copyists (Esquerita, anyone?) no one put it together in the same way before or sense.

An interesting question- who was more incendiary at the time- Elvis or Little Richard? I would say Elvis- because he was a white man copying a black style and bringing it to the masses. Little Richard being black, in the naive 50s mentality, was more easily dismissed- "oh, that's just how they are" - but was Elvis, who (again, filtering it through my vision of what the mentality was at the time) chose it, therefore more threatening?

And another question- is there anyone who doesn't find his shtick for the last 20 years or so incredibly tiring? I mean, if anybody's got the right to play Little Richard, it's him. But I wish he was a little less "on" all the time. He's probably got some interesting stories he could tell, if he'd just stop being Little Richard for a few minutes.

Song - The Girl Can't Help It - love how he sings "the girl can't hep it" right before the (white, I presume) background vocalists intone "she can't help it" enunciating as if they were in a speech class.

Aw c'mon hatz. I love you but you really are missing the point.

You can break Little Richard down to his elements and proclaim someone else a better piano player, songwriter or singer...those things are arguable. What isn't arguable is that "Lucille", "Rip It Up", "Long Tall Sally","Good Golly, Miss Molly"still crackle with energy after thousands of listens.

As great as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry were, until James Brown came along there was nobody who could touch Little Richard for pure frenetic excitement. He set the standard. To this day only a select few have touched the hem of his garment.

Album: Here's Little Richard
Song: Rip It Up

[toomanyhatz]

You can break Little Richard down to his elements and proclaim someone else a better piano player, songwriter or singer...those things are arguable. What isn't arguable is that "Lucille", "Rip It Up", "Long Tall Sally","Good Golly, Miss Molly"still crackle with energy after thousands of listens.

As great as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry were, until James Brown came along there was nobody who could touch Little Richard for pure frenetic excitement. He set the standard. To this day only a select few have touched the hem of his garment.

Missing the point? Nothing I said contradicts any of that.

[The Write Profile]

How in the world did 1950s Eisenhour honky America deal with Little Richard?

I've got a comp of his Specialty stuff called The Georgia Peach. I imagine he wasn't much of an album artist, but maybe some of you have beloved titles. What it really boils down to is which whoopin', hollerin', rollickin' slice of two and a half minute rock and soul most stretches your smile.

Favorite Song - "Lucille"

Yeah, that's the same comp that I've got and it's great, relentless and often very very funny. In response to toomanyhatz and John Coan's comments on the man, I'd say that though he isn't nearly the most artful or varied a songwriter or performer as some of the other names mentioned, I'd say he's the one that sounds the most unhinged- even taking into account Jerry Lee Lewis's insane live recordings. Of course, the strange campness (love the idea of him being "the first glam rocker"!) means that his work has an extra frission today, but really, it's all about the way he launches, dances and rolls into his big numbers. Bo Diddley's more badass, Chuck's the narrative storyteller, Elvis is the barrier breaker and Jerry Lee Lewis was the nutjob, so I suppose that makes Little Richard the dynamite, or something. I'm, er, talking out of my hat a bit here. That said, out of those, only Bo Diddley and occasionally Chuck Berry are the ones I get as much enjoyment out of as Little Richard. Make of that what you will.

"The Girl Can't Help It" is a personal favourite of mine (great, great film, too) with its manic swing and incongruous backing vocals, but there's something about the fierce "Keep A Knockin'" and jiving "Kansas City (Hey Hey Hey)" that means I rate those as his aces. The latter, of course, became the source for one of the best Beatles covers--Paul McCartney's best R&B stuff for the Fabs always seemed to owe more than a little to the man, and not just his vocal technique.

As one critic once said, you don't go to King (or is it Queen?) of Rock & Roul for variety, you go to him to take the skyrocket. And on that level, his Specialty recordings always succeed. I haven't heard much of his later, more soul-orientated stuff, but I will plug "I Don't Know What You Got but it's Got Me"- not only a great title, but a superb slice of rock & soul, too, showing a real artistry at work with his mayhem.

As for toomany's remark about whether Little Richard might be a bit more interesting if he weren't so "on" all the time, I think he might be onto something. Certainly, he'd have many a fine story to tell, and doesn't come accross as the bitter old saw that Chuck Berry does. What's his autobiography like?

[Muskrat]

Favorite songs:

"I've Got It" (early version of "She's Got It" with better lyrics)
"Send Me Some Lovin'" (ace ballad; he doesn't get enough respect for these)
"Boogie with..." oh, excuse me: "Ooh! My Soul."

[Davey the Fat Boy]

You can break Little Richard down to his elements and proclaim someone else a better piano player, songwriter or singer...those things are arguable. What isn't arguable is that "Lucille", "Rip It Up", "Long Tall Sally","Good Golly, Miss Molly"still crackle with energy after thousands of listens.

As great as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry were, until James Brown came along there was nobody who could touch Little Richard for pure frenetic excitement. He set the standard. To this day only a select few have touched the hem of his garment.

Missing the point? Nothing I said contradicts any of that.

Nothing you said credits him for it either.

It's a huge ommission. Kind of like critiquing Leonard Cohen without mentioning his songwriting abilities.

[The Write Profile]

Favorite songs:

"I've Got It" (early version of "She's Got It" with better lyrics)
"Send Me Some Lovin'" (ace ballad; he doesn't get enough respect for these)
"Boogie with..." oh, excuse me: "Ooh! My Soul."

All fantastic songs, one thing I do think you gotta hand him too is the fact that his songwriting was so direct- no messing about, it gets in and gets out and has a real snappiness to it. I think the longest track on the Georgia Peach compilation is 2:20!

His ballads are pretty shattering too, do you think James Brown was influenced by Little Richard as a songwriter? I'm not very good at the whole "history" thing with rock music, so I'd be curious as to whether Brown ever admitted as much. I certainly hear some similaraties in Brown's often boiling-to-the-point-of-hysteria approach to ballad writing.

[bixhenry]

I gotta go with davey on this one. There's practically nothing from the Fifties as exciting as those classic Little Richard singles - and there was plenty of exciting records from that time. Much as one can start to loathe oldies radio for its increasingly narrow playlists, it is impossible to hear something like the distorted vocal on 'Good Golly Miss Molly' and not marvel at the fact that records like that used to be hits!

His classic records are great songs, to boot. Just because they may follow the standard blues format, doesn't make them less than great as songs. One of my favorite artists from that time period.

Album: Here's Little Richard
Song: 'Good Golly Miss Molly'

[Muskrat]

I'm not very good at the whole "history" thing with rock music, so I'd be curious as to whether Brown ever admitted as much. I certainly hear some similaraties in Brown's often boiling-to-the-point-of-hysteria approach to ballad writing.

I don't have Richard's autobiography at hand, but they're from the same part of Georgia, both heavily influenced by gospel music, and Little Richard (who had been recording since 1951 or '52) preceded Brown.

Little Richard for the most part didn't "write" his own songs -- most of what he has his name on is adapted from earlier material (like Carl Perkins and "Matchbox") or collaborations with other writers. Not that I hold that against him: just credit where due.

[Davey the Fat Boy]

I'm not very good at the whole "history" thing with rock music, so I'd be curious as to whether Brown ever admitted as much. I certainly hear some similaraties in Brown's often boiling-to-the-point-of-hysteria approach to ballad writing.

I don't have Richard's autobiography at hand, but they're from the same part of Georgia, both heavily influenced by gospel music, and Little Richard (who had been recording since 1951 or '52) preceded Brown.

Little Richard for the most part didn't "write" his own songs -- most of what he has his name on is adapted from earlier material (like Carl Perkins and "Matchbox") or collaborations with other writers. Not that I hold that against him: just credit where due.

James Brown's wikipedia page says the following:

Brown's early recordings were fairly straightforward gospel-inspired R&B compositions, heavily inspired by the work of contemporary musicians, such as Ray Charles and Little Richard, who was also a notable influence on Brown at this point. Brown once called Little Richard his idol, and credited his saxophone-studded mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, with becoming the first group to put the funk in the rock and roll beat.[11] When Little Richard bolted from pop music in 1957 to become a preacher, Brown honored Little Richard's remaining tour dates in his place. Several former members of Little Richard's backup band joined Brown's group as a consequence of Little Richard's exit from the pop music scene.

[Sneelock]

even before the 60's started I think Little Richard goes STRAIGHT to rock and roll heaven. nothing gets me fired up as much. If the guy became a joke it's because he got ripped off so bad. I like hearing him rant about it in his special way. I hope some youngsters are paying attention.

album: I think everything I've had has been a 'best of' one way or the other. anything that says "Specialty" on it somewhere is probably my favorite.

song:

win: davey is correct! 'rip it up' for me, too!
place: cherry red
show: his version of 'Goodnight Irene' always makes me sway back and forth with my glass held high.

oh, one more thing.
here in the southland you might see Little Richard and his entourage every once in a while at some modest coffee shop or another. I only mention it because people LOVE the guy. they say "I LOVE YOU LITTLE RICHARD" and he tell s them he loves them back. I've seen this a few times and it's fun to watch especially since I love the guy myself.

[Matt Wilson]

Richard's '50s Specialty sides are almost like punk songs: In your face, loud rock 'n' roll of the highest order.



Most people will opt for a single disc compilation but decency propels me to pimp for this box set of all his Specialty sessions. Perhaps a tad too many alternate takes but all his '50s sides are included. Bear Family couldn't have done better.

[Muskrat]

There are two versions of the Specialty sessions box. The American (released by Fantasy) has everything all but the most fanatic needs, including all the master takes. The UK (Ace?) version has a couple more CDs and many more alternate takes.

[Spock!]

I was once played some gospel tracks in a kind of blindfold test. I failed to identify the singer as Little Richard, remember them as being pretty good but wonder if that's my memory - anyone familiar with his gospel recordings?

[Owen]

Never really come in this section, is this where all the good posting on music has been hiding, some great stuff in this thread.

his soul stuff on Vee-Jay is excellent as well, I don't Know What You've got is obviously the pinacle of it but a lot of the comp i have is very good, although it is mixed in with recuts of the 50s stuff.

Best Song
Rip It Up