“Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom”
HMO salutes the pioneer and architect of rock n’ roll Little Richard. I found it almost impossible to decide which song to select for a tribute, since to pick one is to imply that it’s the greatest. But in the mid-to-late 50s Speciality Records era, he released so many classic songs it’s ridiculous. Even narrowing down the selection to songs from his debut album Here’s Little Richard, I’d still have to choose between Ready Teddy, Rip It Up, Slippin’ And Slidin’, Long Tall Sally, Jenny Jenny, and She’s Got It.
What if I narrowed it down to songs with a link with hard rock and metal? There’s the lyrics from Rip It Up and Good Golly Miss Molly winding up in Deep Purple’s seminal Speed King; the drum intro from Keep A Knockin’ that kicks off Led Zep’s Rock N’ Roll; and the cover of Get Down And Get With It that launched Slade’s run of UK hits. “Little Richard,” Lemmy said in a 1994 interview. “That was the first guy I saw where I knew that was what I wanted to do.”
So let’s just start at the beginning of everything: Tutti Frutti. As AC/DC’s Brian Johnson said “there was nothing, and then there was this”. The big bang of rock n’ roll. Souped-up twelve bar boogie woogie, energy, hollering, sex, excitement, outrageousness. It’s timeless. But I could say that about any of the other songs I’ve mentioned in this post.
HEAVY METAL OVERLOAD 
Great tribute. I played my kids some of his music this weekend. One appreciated, the other not so much.
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Thanks John! I can see how it might be a bit old-timey for the young uns.
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I agree, great tribute! Special marks for pointing out how many of his songs had an impact on metal.
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Thanks! I’m sure there are more but those are the ones that sprung to mind first.
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There’s bound to be more but thanks for these.
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That sounds like exactly the precise rating – decades later, it hasn’t lost an ounce of its energy!
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Yes it’s a rare and well-deserved 10/5. I don’t give those out very often!
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10 out of 5? Fuckin’ A dude. I’m with you on that one.
I never had a gal named Daisy but she almost drive me crazy anyway.
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So she had a guy named LeBrain and she drove him insane?
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Hey that’s a good one!
Of the oldies rockers, I have two favourites. Richard and Buddy Holly. Buddy of course was gone long before I was born…and it felt like Richard has been gone a long time too.
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Richard is definitely my fave. I’ve got good stuff of Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent and plenty of Elvis too. Would like to get some Eddie Cochran and Johnny Kidd albums at some point.
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I have some Elvis but really do need some Chuck in my collection. And the American Graffiti soundtrack because obviously!
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No LR, no heavy rock/metal/punk/garage rock – all the wilder more energetic things I love most about music. He just added the electricity to it all. Plus I really liked the way his sexuality used to really freak folk out.
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No grindcore either! I love watching interviews of his in the 60s/70s. People just didn’t know how to take him at all.
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Stuff like this is why I fell in love with rock n roll. His records always had killer sax.
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Agreed. Awesome drummers on this stuff too.
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The music was good from all angles. All those old rockers had great bands behind them. Gene Vincents Blue Caps was a good one for me.
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Yes! I love their stuff. Cliff Gallup… what a guitarist!
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No kidding. I love that stuff. “Catman’ is a killer. I think I’ll dive into Little R and see what I remember and what I missed.
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