Little Richard's success was a happy accident of sorts. He had already failed with two other record companies when Specialty Records decided to record him in 1955. Producer Bumps Blackwell of Specialty thought that Richard might work well with the unique sounds that came out of Cosima Matassa's recording studio in New Orleans.
And so it was that Little Richard, a native of Macon, Ga., became an exponent of the New Orleans sound, working with Blackwell and the Matassa house band.
This LP contains the biggest records that Richard made from 1955-57. For the most part, the musicians you hear are Lee Allen (tenor sax), Red Tyler (baritone sax), Frank Fields (bass), Earl Palmer (drums) and Edgar Blanchard, Roy Eustis Montrell or Justin Adams (guitar). They had played on many New Orleans hits by that time, and would continue to do so.
We call Little Richard a "rock 'n' roll" act, but was first and foremost a rhythm and blues artist, one with many influences. He liked the vocals of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and he borrowed some aspects of his stage personna from Billy Wright and Esquerita. Some of his repertoire (e.g., "Keep A-Knockin'") goes back to the 20s. His first hit, "Tutti-Frutti," was a salacious song that was toned down for recording purposes.
But Richard put all this together in his own way, one that is irresistible more than 60 years later.
