Little Richard first originated the famous “awop-bop-a-loo-mop alop-bam-boom” refrain in his hit song “Tutti Frutti” early in his career while performing at the Dew Drop Inn in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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- And when we went into the Dew-Drop Inn.
There was a piano.
All of the boosters, rounders, pimps, whores and everything else was hanging around.
And that was when I began to know and understand Richard 'cause all you gotta do is give Richard an audience, turn the lights on, and the show is on.
(upbeat piano music) - And Richard jumped on the piano and did a "Awop-Bop-A-Loo-Mop Alop-Bam-Boom."
So, they heard it and said, wait a minute, what's that?
It was a hook that they had never heard before, but Richard had been singing that phrase for years, you know, in the Chitlin' Circuit.
- [Richard] And so I started singing.
"Awop-Bop-A-Loo-Mop Alop-Bam-Boom.
If it don't fit, don't force it.
But you can grease it and make it easy.
If you want it, you got it.
Tutti-frutti, good booty.
- The lyrics could be interpreted as gay sex.
They're not gonna play that on the radio.
(man laughing) Tutti-frutti good booty!
And everybody knew this ain't about ice cream.
(man laughing) But the primary reaction from the producer's point of view was that, hey, this sounds like a hit record.
- [Bumps] I asked him, did he have a grudge against making money?
He said, no.
I said, good.
- [Richard] They said it was smutty.
And so, they helped me clean up my own lyrics.
It was my song, I brought the song there.
- So, we wrote the words "Tutti-frutti, oh rootie."
And a girl named Sue and a girl named Daisy put Richard on the piano, and in 15 minutes I think we cut two or three cuts.
And it's been history ever since.
