"Keep A-Knockin' (But You Can't Come In)" is a popular song that has been recorded by a variety of musicians over the years. The lyrics concern a lover at the door who will not be admitted; some versions because someone else is already there, but in most others because the knocking lover has behaved badly. Early versions are sometimes credited to

Perry Bradford Perry Bradford (February 14, 1893, Montgomery, Alabama – April 20, 1970, New York City) was an American composer, songwriter, and vaudeville performer. His most notable songs included "Crazy Blues," "That Thing Called Love," and "You Can't Kee ...

and

J. Mayo Williams Jay Mayo "Ink" Williams (September 25, 1894 – January 2, 1980) was a pioneering African-American producer of recorded blues music. Some historians have claimed that Ink Williams earned his nickname by his ability to get the signatures of t ...

. Variations were recorded by

James "Boodle It" Wiggins James "Boodle It" Wiggins was an American blues singer and musician. His best known recordings were "Keep Knockin' An You Can't Get In", a precursor of both "Keep A-Knockin'" and "I Hear You Knocking"; plus his versions of "Corrine, Corrina" an ...

in 1928, Lil Johnson in 1935,

Milton Brown Milton Brown (September 8, 1903 – April 18, 1936) was an American band leader and vocalist who co-founded the genre of Western swing. His band was the first to fuse hillbilly hokum, jazz, and pop together into a unique, distinctly American hy ...

in 1936 and

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

in 1939. A similar lyrical theme appears in "

Open the Door, Richard "Open the Door, Richard" is a song first recorded by the saxophonist Jack McVea for Black & White Records at the suggestion of A&R man Ralph Bass. In 1947, it was the number one song on ''Billboards "Honor Roll of Hits" and became a runaway po ...

" from 1946, but from the viewpoint of the one knocking. Wiggins' version was entitled "Keep Knockin' An You Can't Get In", which was recorded in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, in around February 1928 and released by

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...

(12662) that year. In 1957, when

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

recorded it as an uptempo

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

song, "Keep A-Knockin'" reached number two on the U.S. R&B charts and number eight on the U.S. pop charts. This version is usually credited to Penniman (Little Richard's legal name), Williams, and Bert Mays. Little Richard re-recorded the song four times, on the albums ''

Little Richard's Greatest Hits ''Little Richard's Greatest Hits'' (with various titles and cover art) is an album of Little Richard songs re-recorded in 1964 and first released in the US by Vee-Jay Records in January 1965. It features updated versions of twelve of his best-kno ...

'' (1965), '' Little Richard Live'' (1976), '' Shake It All About'' (1992), and the soundtrack to the film '' Why Do Fools Fall in Love'' (1998). The ''Shake It All About'' recording features a much simpler arrangement (the only instruments are vocals and piano), and spoken interludes of Little Richard exchanging knock-knock jokes with a group of children.

Personnel

*Little Richard — vocals, piano *Wilbert Smith,

Grady Gaines Grady Gaines (May 14, 1934 – January 29, 2021) was an American electric blues, Texas blues and jazz blues tenor saxophonist, who performed and recorded with Little Richard in the 1950s. He backed other musicians such as Dee Clark, Little Willi ...

, Clifford Burks — tenor saxophones *Samuel Parker — baritone saxophones *Nathaniel Douglas — guitar *Olsie Robinson — bass *

Charles Connor Charles Connor (January 14, 1935 – July 31, 2021) was an American drummer, best known as a member of Little Richard's band. Richard's shout of "a-wop bop-a loo-mop, a-lop bam-boom" at the beginning of "Tutti Frutti" is said to be a reference ...

— drums

Recognition and influence

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine later ranked "Keep A-Knockin'" at number 442 in its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". An

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

titled "

I Hear You Knocking "I Hear You Knocking" (or "I Hear You Knockin'") is a rhythm and blues song written by Dave Bartholomew. New Orleans rhythm and blues singer Smiley Lewis first recorded the song in 1955. The lyrics tell of the return of a former lover who is rebu ...

", written by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King, was recorded by

Smiley Lewis A smiley, sometimes referred to as a smiley face, is a basic ideogram that represents a smiling face. Since the 1950s it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram, or as a form of communication, such a ...

in 1955. The drum part on Little Richard's song, played by

, also inspired later songs.

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...

's " Somethin' Else" features an identical drum beat, played by

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of al ...

The version of the song recorded by Louis Jordan was featured in the 2015 videogame ''

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the Fallout (series), ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for P ...

'', as part of the in-game radio station "Diamond City Radio". Little Richard's version of the song has made numerous appearances in popular culture. It is featured in the ''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three dau ...

'' episode "Too Little Richard Too Late", performed by Little Richard himself. A version with alternate lyrics was recorded for as the opening theme of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

TV series ''

Friday Night Videos ''Friday Night Videos'' (later becoming ''Friday Night'' and then ''Late Friday'') is an American music video show that was broadcast on NBC from July 29, 1983 to May 24, 2002. It was the network's attempt to capitalize on the emerging popularit ...

''. Film appearances include '' Up in Smoke'', ''

Christine Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...

'', and the theatrical trailer for ''

Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The first film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, the film stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Hear ...

''.

Cover versions

Swedish rock band

the Shanes Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a sur ...

recorded a version of the song in August 1964. Backed by "Come On Sally", a song written by the group's lead guitarist Staffan Berggren, it was released as a single that same month. It was their first vocal single following three

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

-inspired instrumental singles. It nonetheless became a chart hit, reaching number eight on ''

Tio i Topp ''Tio i Topp'' (English: ''Ten At The Top'') was a Swedish record chart and radio program broadcast by Sveriges Radio P3 between the years of 1961 and 1974. It was launched to combat pirate radio charts and was the first official Swedish record cha ...

'' on 29 August 1964, staying there for two weeks. Both sides of the single are included on the group's debut album ''Let Us Show You'' released in October 1964.

References

{{authority control 1957 singles Little Richard songs Louis Jordan songs 1920s songs Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown Specialty Records singles The Crickets songs