At 85, Richard Penniman aka Little Richard is one of the last founding fathers of rock and roll still alive. While rumors abound that Little Richard is too old and frail to perform, he insists he still sings and stays active. Regardless, with his legacy secured and his influence undeniable, what better way to recognize the man’s genius than to revisit his debut album 60 years after its release. Here’s Little Richard was his most successful record, and the songs it spawned — “Long Tall Sally,” “Jenny, Jenny,” “Tutti Frutti,” “Ready Teddy,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’” and many others — are the foundation of rock and roll. A deluxe version from Craft Recordings features a remaster of the original album and a second disc of demos, alternate takes and previously unreleased material from the original sessions.
With seven hits in the R&B Top 10, and two in the Pop Top 10, Here’s Little Richard is a definitive document of early rock in its most primal and rawest form. Along with the album’s 12 tracks, 22 more reveal the inner workings of each song in their formative stages or alternate states, including an early take of “Tutti Frutti,” demos of “Slippin’ and Slidin'” and “Miss Ann,” and alternate takes of “Rip It Up” and “Reddy Teddy.” Music journalist Chris Morris writes in the reissue’s liner notes that the alternate versions “reveal the blossoming of an unprecedented and wholly original talent whose first recordings broke down the categorical doors between R&B and pop.”
For Little Richard, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1993 Grammy Awards, and added to the NAACP Image Awards’ Hall of Fame in 2002, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2015, a quirky, effeminate image and issues with drugs and alcohol never seemed to overshadow his impact as one of the rock’s first icons. Here’s Little Richard is a sober reminder of the singer’s rightful place in history.
~ Shawn Perry
