''Here's Little Richard'' is the debut album by American musician

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 ...

, released on March 4, 1957. Promoted as "six of Little Richard's hits and six brand new songs of hit calibre", the album compiles many of the A-sides and B-sides from Richard's hit singles including the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' top 40 entries " Tutti Frutti", "

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 ...

", " Slippin' and Slidin'", " Rip It Up" and " Jenny, Jenny" and the top 10 Rhythm and Blues Best-Sellers hits " Ready Teddy", "She's Got It" and "Miss Ann". The album's twelve tracks were produced by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell and recorded in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in a highly collaborative process. Several of the songs included have been characterised as innovative and important in the development of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and 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 African ...

. ''Here's Little Richard'' was Richard's highest charting album, peaking at 13 on the ''

'' Pop Albums chart. In the years since its release, the album has been included in several lists of the greatest albums of all time including those by ''

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

'' and ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. In 2025, '' Uncut'' ranked it as the greatest album of the 1950s.

Background

Little Richard first achieved success after signing to

Art Rupe Arthur Newton Rupe (born Arthur Goldberg; September 5, 1917 – April 15, 2022) was an American music executive and record producer. He founded Specialty Records, known for its rhythm and blues, blues, gospel and early rock and roll music reco ...

's label

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 ...

and releasing the single " Tutti Frutti". A self-composed number which Richard had been performing live for some time, "Tutti Frutti" was recorded at J & M Studio,

in September 1955 after producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell had Richard's ribald lyrics revised by songwriter Dorothy LaBostrie. The song's hollered refrain (often transcribed as "a-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-lop-bam-boom!"), hard-driving sound and unconventional lyrics became a model for many future Little Richard songs. Richard accompanies himself on piano on the song, playing eight-note patterns that have been cited as an innovation in

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

. In 2012, musicologist Lee Hildebrand stated "swing and shuffle beats had been the primary pulse of rhythm & blues until Richard introduced the even eights that would come to drive most R&B and rock music". Issued as a single in November 1955, "Tutti Frutti" was an instant hit, reaching No. 2 on ''

'' magazine's Rhythm and Blues Best-Sellers chart and crossing over to the pop charts in both the United States and overseas in the United Kingdom. In the wake of his single’s success, Richard travelled to

and recorded demos at Specialty's offices,

Radio Recorders Radio Recorders, Inc. was an American recording studio located in Los Angeles, California. During the 1940s and 1950s, Radio Recorders was one of the largest independent recording studios in the world. Notable musicians recorded at Radio Recorde ...

and Ted Brinson's studio before returning to J & M. His style of working was marked by grinding rehearsals and close collaboration with Art Rupe, Bumps Blackwell, and

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

and

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

owner Cosimo Matassa. The follow-up to "Tutti Frutti", "

", was initially titled "The Thing" and was cut three times on different dates before Rupe was satisfied. In addition to the hallmarks carried over from "Tutti Frutti" such as Richard's falsetto "woo"s and his hammering

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...

-styled piano, "Long Tall Sally" features a rapid fire vocal delivery. The song topped the Rhythm and Blues chart and its B-side, " Slippin' and Slidin'", reached No. 2. Richard's next single " Rip It Up / Ready Teddy" was his third million-seller, while " She's Got It" was another Rhythm & Blues top ten. By the end of 1956, Richard's success had led to appearances in the rock and roll films ''

Don't Knock the Rock ''Don't Knock the Rock'' is a 1956 American musical film starring Alan Dale and Alan Freed. Directed by Fred F. Sears, the film also features performances by Bill Haley & His Comets (who were top-billed), Little Richard, The Treniers, and Da ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. His frantic performance style saw him described as a " whirling dervish of modern entertainment" by ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

''.

''Here's Little Richard'' was Specialty's first 12-inch LP. Assembled by Art Rupe, the album compiles Richard's six hit songs from 1955–56 alongside six previously unreleased cuts with each recording featuring his distinctive "totally untameable, anarchic vocal style" pushed forward. Among the new songs on the album, "Can't Believe You Wanna Leave" has been described as a "chugging blues lament" that, along with "Oh Why", resembles the "sedentary style of

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

". The tender "Baby" has been likened to the work of

Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pio ...

and

the Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...

. "Miss Ann" alludes to Ann Howard, a Macon woman who ran the club Ann's Tic Toc Room. All of the songs on ''Here's Little Richard'' were recorded in New Orleans with the exception of "True, Fine Mama" and "She's Got It", both made in Los Angeles. The single " Jenny, Jenny/Miss Ann" was released from the album in June 1957. "Jenny, Jenny", described by ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

'' as a "joyous celebration of womanhood", peaked at number ten on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number two on the Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles chart.

Release

''Here's Little Richard'' was issued by Specialty on March 4, 1957, both as a 12-inch LP (SP-100) and as a series of three EPs (SEP-400, 401 and 402 respectively). According to author George Plasketes, the album felt "fresh but familiar" to listeners because, as it contained previously released hits, it bore similarities to a

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

. The album spent five weeks on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs chart and peaked at number thirteen. It was Richard's only album to make the US top twenty. "True, Fine Mama" was released as a single in 1958 and again reached both the ''Billboard'' pop and R&B charts. The album was issued by Regency in Canada and

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Brazil. In 1989,

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

issued ''The Specialty Sessions'', a six-disc boxset compiling demos, outtakes and masters from Richard's time with Specialty. On April 17, 2012, Concord issued an expanded edition of ''Here's Little Richard'', adding demo versions of two tracks and a nine-minute interview with Art Rupe. On November 3, 2017, Concord's Craft Recordings label released a 2-disc 60th anniversary edition featuring 22 bonus tracks.

Critical reception and legacy

Reviewing ''Here's Little Richard'' upon its release, ''

'' praised the "striking" cover art and commented "Richard's frantic up-tempo wailings will definitely be greeted enthusiastically by the jive set". ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described the album as a "refresher course of previous R&R smashes", noting "with hardly a spare breath, the young entertainer belts out some of his biggest hits". A less favourable notice came from the '' Duncannon Record'', whose anonymous reviewer commented "the full treatment did not altogether convince me that rock is my salvation in the realm of the arts. But I will admit I could follow the beat and there were times when I was able to suppress my spleen long enough to allow my foot to tap". Among retrospective reviews, Mark Deming of

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 ...

commented that "these 12 tunes may not represent the alpha and omega of Little Richard's best music, but every song is a classic and unlike many of his peers, time has refused to render this first album quaint -- Richard's grainy scream remains one of the great sounds in rock & roll history, and the thunder of his piano and the frantic wail of the band is still the glorious call of a Friday night with pay in the pocket and trouble in mind". Writing for ''

'' in 2010,

Alan Light Alan Light (born August 4, 1966) is an American journalist who has been a rock critic for ''Rolling Stone'' and the editor-in-chief for '' Vibe,'' '' Spin,'' and ''Tracks''. Early life Light grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he attended Cincin ...

described the album as "glorious anarchy, let loose by a crack team of

musicians with the most distinctive, most outrageous voice of them all leading the charge". Reviewing the album's 2012 reissue, Terry Staunton of ''

'' deemed the album's "raucous rockers" still startling and "rarely equalled for their flash and ferocity". In 2014, ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

s Matt Stock wrote "every track on ''Here's Little Richard'' is a stone-cold classic". In 2003, the album was ranked number 50 on ''

'' magazine's list of

the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...

, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, but dropping to number 227 in the 2020 revision. It is included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...

'' and ''Time'' listed it in the Top 100 Albums of All Time in 2010. In the former, writer Michael Lydon described ''Here's Little Richard'' as a "flat-out classic" and further described it as "rock 'n' roll's stem cells" in that it was one of only a few albums from which "the whole genre grew". Similarly, Plasketes wrote that the record's songs impacted the vocals and performance styles of performers including

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

, Richard Berry,

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

, Big Al Downing and

Thurston Harris Thurston Harris (July 11, 1931 – April 14, 1990) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1957 hit "Little Bitty Pretty One". Career Harris first appeared on record in 1953. He was the vocalist for South Central Los Angel ...

, while noting that the record's more animated songs would later attract interpreters such as

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...

, Mitch Ryder and

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. The opening track " Tutti Frutti" was listed as number 43 in ''Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Richard later recorded new versions of the album's songs for other labels. In 2025, '' Uncut'' ranked ''Here's Little Richard'' at number one in their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of the 1950s". Contributor Bud Scoppa wrote how "the self described king – and queen – of rock'n'roll rew upthe grand blueprint, settting into motion the transformation of popular music."

Track listing

2012 bonus tracks

"Baby" (Demo) (Penniman) – 4:22 #"All Night Long" (Demo) (Penniman) – 2:49 #"Interview with Specialty Records Founder Art Rupe" (Paul Jones) – 9:13

2017 bonus tracks

"Tutti Frutti" (Take 2) (Penniman, LaBostrie) – 1:31 # "True Fine Mama" (Incomplete Take) (Penniman) – 1:11 # "Can't Believe You Wanna Leave" (Take 6) (Price) – 2:25 # "Can't Believe You Wanna Leave" (Take 8) (Price) – 2:23 # "Ready Teddy" (Take 1) (Blackwell, Marascalco) – 1:32 # "Ready Teddy" (Takes 2 & 3) (Blackwell, Marascalco) – 2:09 # "Baby" (Demo) (Penniman) – 4:18 # "Baby" (Take 1) (Penniman) – 2:22 # "Slippin' and Slidin'" (Demo) – 1:47 # "Slippin' and Slidin'" (Piano & Drums Demo) – 1:57 # "Long Tall Sally" (Take 1) (Johnson, Blackwell, Penniman) – 2:01 # "Long Tall Sally" (Take 6) (Johnson, Blackwell, Penniman) – 2:07 # "Miss Ann" (Demo) (Penniman, Johnson) – 1:43 # "Miss Ann" (Take 1) (Penniman, Johnson) – 2:29 # "Miss Ann" (Take 6) (Penniman, Johnson) – 2:51 # "Oh Why?" (Takes 3 & 4) (Scott) – 2:23 # "Oh Why?" (Take 9) (Scott) – 2:14 # "Rip It Up" (Take 1) (Blackwell, Marascalco) – 1:15 # "Rip It Up" (Take 3) (Blackwell, Marascalco) – 2:20 # "Rip It Up" (Take 4) (Blackwell, Marascalco) – 1:48 # "Rip It Up" (Take 6) (Blackwell, Marascalco) – 3:10 # "She's Got It" (Alternate Version) (Marascalco, Penniman) – 2:28

Personnel

– vocals, piano (except on 5 and 9) * Lee Allen – tenor saxophone (except on 2 and 12) * Alvin "Red" Tyler – baritone saxophone (except on 2 and 12) * Frank Fields – bass (except on 2 and 12) *

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 ...

– drums (except on 2 and 12) * Edgar Blanchard – guitar (except on 1, 2, 5, 9 and 12)

Additional personnel

*Justin Adams – guitar on 1 and 5 *

Huey Smith Huey, used as a given name, is a variant of Hughie. It may refer to: People * Huey (rapper) (1987–2020), American rapper * Huey Dunbar, Puerto Rican salsa singer * Huey Johnson (1933–2020), American environmentalist and politician * Huey ...

– piano on 5 *Renald Richard – trumpet on 2 *Clarence Ford – tenor sax, baritone sax on 2 *Joe Tillman – tenor sax on 2 *William "Frosty" Pyles – guitar on 2 * Lloyd Lambert – bass on 2 *Oscar Moore – drums on 2 * Roy Montrell – guitar on 9 *Wilbert Smith – tenor sax on 12 * Grady Gaines – tenor sax on 12 *Clifford Burks – tenor sax on 12 *Jewell Grant – baritone sax on 12 *Nathaniel Douglas – guitar on 12 *Olsie Richard Robinson – bass on 12 * Charles Connor – drums on 12

Charts

Weekly

Singles

References

{{Authority control 1957 debut albums Little Richard albums Specialty Records albums Albums produced by Robert Blackwell