''Little Richard's Greatest Hits'' (with various titles and cover art) is an album of
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...
songs re-recorded in 1964 and first released in the US by
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...
in January 1965. It features updated versions of twelve of his best-known songs originally recorded in the 1950s for
Specialty Records
Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd P ...
. Some of these re-recordings use different musical arrangements, including unusual syncopation, tambourine and jazz horns.
Background
Little Richard recorded forty-six songs for Vee-Jay Records, but nearly half of them were unreleased when the company filed for bankruptcy in January 1966. Eventually, they were compiled onto albums, such as: '' Mr. Big'' (1971), ''Rip It Up'' (1973) and '' Talkin' 'Bout Soul'' (1974).
During the brief time
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
toured with Richard, he recorded at least twelve songs: “I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)” , “Dancing All Around the World” (aka “Dance A Go Go”) and “You Better Stop”, are perhaps the only ones beyond a December, 1964 session of remakes. Claims have been made over the years that Hendrix played on more Richard recordings. One substantiated claim is that Hendrix and childhood mentor Esquerita played on the recut sessions in New York. The latter in “Good Golly, Miss Molly” and “Slippin' and Slidin'”.
Critical reception
According to Little Richard biographer Charles White, both the recordings and Richard's erratic persona of the time are regarded as low points in his career: "blinded by commercial considerations, they ee-Jayrushed the session without concern for quality. The result was dreadful."
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
critic William Ruhlmann noted "Little Richard is in much rougher voice than he was when he did the originals, but he remains a spirited performer. Just don't buy this album thinking you are getting the hit versions of these songs!"
Track listing
#"
Good Golly, Miss Molly
"Good Golly, Miss Molly" is a rock 'n' roll song first recorded in 1956 by American musician Little Richard and released in January 1958 as Specialty single 624, and later on ''Little Richard'' in March 1958.
The song, a jump blues, was written ...
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John Marascalco
John S. Marascalco (March 27, 1931 – July 5, 2020) was an American songwriter most noted for the songs he wrote for Little Richard. He was born in Grenada, Mississippi and died in Los Angeles, California.
Career
Marascalco co-wrote several o ...
,
Robert Blackwell
Robert Alexander "Bumps" Blackwell (May 23, 1918 – March 9, 1985) was an American bandleader, songwriter, arranger, and record producer, best known for his work overseeing the early hits of Little Richard, as well as mentoring Ray Char ...
) (2:07)
#"
Baby Face
Babyface or Baby Face can refer to:
Nicknames
* Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber
* Roosevelt Baby Face Willette, "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician
* "Baby Fa ...
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Harry Akst
Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963) - accessed November 19, 2011 was an American
,
Benny Davis
Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs.
Biography
Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. In ...
Dorothy LaBostrie
Dorothy LaBostrie (May 28, 1928 – November 4, 2007), later Dorothy LaBostrie Black, was an American songwriter, best known for co-writing Little Richard's 1955 hit " Tutti Frutti".
Early life and family
She was born in Rayland, Kentucky; so ...
, Richard Penniman Little Richard) (2:24)
#" Send Me Some Lovin'" (Marascalco, Leo Price) (2:19)
#"
The Girl Can't Help It
''The Girl Can't Help It'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the lead role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenpla ...
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Bobby Troup
Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the composer of the rhythm and blues standard " (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" and for the role of D ...
She's Got It
"She's Got It" is a 1956 song by Little Richard, written by John Marascalco and Little Richard. It was originally called "I Got It" (and Richard had also recorded a version with that title), but the lyrics were rewritten for the film ''The Girl Ca ...
" (Marascalco, Penniman) (2:11)
#"
Ooh! My Soul
"Ooh! My Soul", sometimes spelled "Oh My Soul", is a 1958 song by Little Richard. It first appeared on a May 1958 single, then on his eponymous second album. It was subsequently recorded by the Beatles in 1963 for the BBC, and by Big Brother a ...
" (Penniman) (2:17)
#"
Long Tall Sally
"Long Tall Sally", also known as "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)", is a rock and roll song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson, and Little Richard and released on Richard's album '' Here's Little Richard''. Richard recorded it fo ...