eMusic

Start Your Trial

The Essential Little Richard

by

Little Richard

 
  • Pick
The Essential Little Richard
view larger image View Larger

Rate it!

Avg: 4.5 (93 ratings)

It just doesn't get any more rock & roll than this

  • We Say...

    "Tutti Frutti" was the first rock & roll song I ever heard, knee-high to the big console radio in my living room, and it induced the kind of hysterical laughter reserved for true manifestations of the Holy Spirit. But then Little Richard has always spoken in tongues as he moved between the worlds of the sacred and profane. His gospel shout gives a preacher's fervor to these slabs of R&B, and yet, in the very simplicity of his scream, he took the New Orleans sway that producer Bumps Blackwell built into the music and raised the stakes, ramping up the gutbucket with his keening wail; the drive of his records was relentless. This wasn't just the next step in the development of rock & roll; it was the very miracle behind it.

    As it turns out, "Tutti Frutti" almost didn't happen — a demo tacked onto the end of his first Specialty session, it became his debut hit in 1955. The perennials that follow, from "Long Tall Sally" to "Good Golly Miss Molly," are the building blocks of rock, seminal recordings which can truly be called "essential." Without them, rock & roll would have had less of both sides of the equation.

  • They Say...

    Speciality's The Essential Little Richard lives up to its billing, featuring 20 of Little Richard's finest recordings for the label. Not only are all the hits here, but there's some terrific lesser-known tunes and cult favorites slipped on at the end of the record, making this yet another great compilation of Richard's Specialty material. It proves that it would be nearly impossible to release a bad compilation of these recordings.

  • You Say...

    Write a Review

    I would like to say...

    Artist: Little Richard

    Album: The Essential Little Richard

    Review Title: (maximum 50 characters)

    Your Review: (maximum 1,000 characters)

    Cancel

    Please keep your comments to the recordings themselves, and be courteous and respectful. Thanks! For further info, read our Community Guidelines.

The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.


Rolling Stone
Start Your Trial

Recently Viewed

© 1998-2009 eMusic.com Inc. eMusic and the eMusic logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks in the USA or other countries. All rights reserved.

All Music Guide © 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC
Portions of content provided by All Music Guide, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC

Facebook®, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia® are registered trademarks of their respective owners, Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Neither Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. nor Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. are partners or sponsors of eMusic. eMusic uses the Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia API but is not endorsed or certified by Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia. eMusic does not pre-screen, monitor, endorse nor assume any liability for websites, contents, products, services or claims made by Facebook, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia®.