Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020). He was black, gay-drag, extremely flamboyant and he played raw assed rock'n'roll in the heart of the 50s US south. If that's not PUNK, then what tha fuck is it?! Without whom...

 

Little Richard and Buster Poindexter (David Johansen) to present Grammy for the Best New Artist... (1988)

 

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Little Richard - "The Rill Thing" (CD Reissue, Collector's Choice Music - 2009)

Don't know why took so long to the public to figure out how cool were many Blues and R&B legends in their late 60s/early 70s comeback LPs, but I guess never too late. I was obsessed with it! The first bunch that I lay my dirty hands upon were Muddy Waters' "Electric Mud", "London Sessions" and the Johnny Winter (RIP) produced "Hard Again", about twelve years back. From then it was a non stop downhill, he-he! So, as you might guessing I'm on the other side of the river. I totally disagree with the purists or the artists themselves (like in Howlin' Wolf's 1969 Cadet "Album", for instance...). I mean, why Elvis "68 Comeback" regarded as brilliant (which is) and not Bo Diddley's "Black Gladiator" or Little Richard's "Rill Thing"? Cause both originators have tried to update their sound and for me at least, they succeeded. So, where Big Bad Bo got psychedelic funky, the Georgia Peach got swamp rock! Although Reprise (RS-6406, 1970) tried to push it as a comeback album, Little Richard was in fact 'back' many years before, cutting brilliant (though sadly unsuccessful) rhythm & soul sides for labels like O-Keh, Vee-Jay, Modern and Brunswick. "The Rill Thing" was a loan King Little Richard gave to his tribe, especially on Creedence Clearwater Revival and it was time to get the requite for this. Recorded and produced by him at (the now legendary) Muscle Shoals in Alabama, the sounds captured on tape found the real king of rock & roll in heat. His voice was mighty loud as it was on his Specialty hits and the music was greasy, swampy and funky soulful! “Dew Drop Inn” and the album's (now multi-sampled) opener “Freedom Blues” were written by Richard and long time friend, old lover and influence Esquerita (on credits shown as Esgrita!) if that says something (it does!)... The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" funkified surprisingly enough by the man who gave inspiration to Lennon and McCartney partnership and although at first crabs, after two or three listens fits perfectly to the other album's tunes.

Don't know why really, this one still brings mixed emotions. I'm finding it as a truly exceptional and equal creation to this man's legacy! An album for sure drug fueled by cocaine and guilty pleasures but as well, an album of its time and place. Try play it betwixt and between "Sticky Fingers" and "Bayou Country" and you will understand what I'm saying...

Rolling Stone No.59 / May 28 ,1970 - taken from Arouse Your Passion blog

Little Richard - Get Rich Quick! The Birth Of A Legend 1951-1954 (Rev-Ola 2005)

I was checking a few days ago at some net-mailorders and found a recently released long play with material that King Little Richard cut before the Specialty wisecats found him and got him on a studio (the record just came out by Jerome Records under the title 'The Implosive Little Richard - The Pre-Specialty Sessions 1951-1953'). So yes, the wop-bop-a-lou-bop master and if you don't know it already, began and recorded a bunch of tunes before his Specialty peak.
RCA & Peacock labels were the first pit stops for the real king of Rock N Roll. Officialy were recorded 16 tunes. The first thing one can see clearly here, is that Little Richard before Esquerita was a good R&B artist although just another one. What this blogger heard in this terrific compilation by Rev-Ola (a very hard to find CD with all known to this day recorded material from that era), it's the sonic evidence that Norton's mascot had a HUGE influence on him. The vibrato almost operatic voice and falsetto, the pounding, frantic and outta control 88s were all Esquerita's patent! He acknowledged this on some interviews even if he told the half truth (namely only the piano style was SQ's)...Also huge influence on Richard at this period of time was Billy Wright! A great flamboyant artist whose unique performances and "glam" dressing stylings made big interest on both Richard and Esquerita.
Anyway, the bands on these sides were Johnny Otis' and the Deuces of Rhythm along with the Tempo Toppers. Of course none of the two can match the Upsetters (the best rock n roll outfit EVER - better known to most of the world as the backing band of King Richard), but were arguably excellent rhythm & blues cats (especially Johnny Otis band...). What documented on this rare as heck CD are obviously the Peacock/RCA years plus some never released before alternate takes (six) plus three tunes by Christine Kittrell with Richard accompanied her on piano. To my opinion all these recordings are historically "must hears" for every LR fanatic, but if you're a beginner you must buy in every cost the Specialty material  which is what wrote history and created rock n roll!
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Get Rich Quick!

Little Richard - The Hottest Beat In Town (Bootleg LP - Demand 0035)

This Bootleg LP is one of the coolest ever in rock n roll history! Recorded of course LIVE at the "Mad Russian" 9 & 11 October 1968 - Boston Massachusetts. The first time i confronted this overwhelming blast, was at a Norton Records' printed mail order catalog! I always trusted Billy's & Miriam's taste! You see, when you read something like this "Torrid 1968 live whammy loaded to the tits! We once had the pleasure of blastin' this LP at Esquerita's pad and SQ gave it his personal okey doke!" you can do no wrong,huh? Late 60s was a tough period for almost all rock n roll icons of the first era. The British Invasion and the starting of the (yaaaack!) "hippie-pseudo-psychedelic-folk-prog whatever" made they're existence more and more difficult. Little Richard especially tried his best with Soul music (in my opinion with excellent results - check for the Okeh recordings, almost all tracks produced and arranged by Larry Williams and Johnny Watson!), found and lost his God (he did it several times in the future) and was at this moment a step before his second coming! Of course I'm talking about the three albums that cut with Reprise. Anyway, as you can hear in this file, never lost though his flamboyant persona and the sweating result on this bootleg, made this record by far his best live recording!

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