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American rock and roll pioneer Little Richard is dead, with hits like “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally” paving the way for new genres. Throughout his life he oscillated between music and religious retreat.
“I have been singing ‘Tutti Frutti’ live for years. It would never have occurred to me to record it,” Little Richard revealed in his authoritative biography of Charles White. It is thanks to an initially unsuccessful session in September 1955, after which he marked some bars of the number Cosmio Matassa, the legendary head of the New Orleans studio, knew in a second that sales could be made with him The dynamic rhythm and the thunderous and onomatopoeic “A wob bopa loom alop bam boom Tutti frutti au rutti” catapulted Even the most weary of the mind, a classic rock and roll was created.
“Elvis may be the king of rock ‘n’ roll, but I am the queen.”
Little Richard
“Tutti Frutti”. At the same time, the song, which sold three million copies after publication, was an instrument of torture for Little Richard, as the publishing rights were purchased by his then-label Specialty for just $ 50. A tragedy for young artists like Richard, who was young, inexperienced, and poorly trained. It was the famous “School of Hard Knocks” that shaped this man, the School of Hard Knocks. More money for the artist then looked on touring. When “Tutti Frutti” hit the R&B charts, white colleagues took notice. Pat Boone covered the song and so did Elvis Presley. And of course Peter Kraus, who recorded the song in German. But only after the clearly erotic original lines “Tutti Frutti, good booty, if it doesn’t fit, don’t force it. You can grease it, make it easier ”. Now it was called “Tutti Frutti, all rooted.”
Even if the pianist and singer, who was born Richard Wayne Penniman on December 5, 1932 in Macon, Georgia, was robbed of copyright, as an eccentric star of the show and chief architect of rock’n’roll, no one could inhibit him. . Little Richard got six hits in 1955 alone. Among them was “Long Tall Sally”, which would later be found alongside “Tutti Frutti” on Richard’s splendid debut album “Here Little Richard”. The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard charts. That was a high position because at that time music in the United States was still very divided into races. Little Richard was 25 now, but he was already a veteran of the show. It was discovered by gospel and jazz singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Androgyn However, little Richard was more inspired by devilish music than the church. Ike Turner’s thunderous R&B success “Rocket 88” sparked the initial spark. From the start, he enthralled with performance and androgynous eccentricity, which Prince later cultivated as well. And there was also her striking hairstyle, the always stylish pompadour. Little Richard is one of the greats of rock’n’roll with Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. Despite great albums like “The Explosive Little Richard” and “The Second Coming”, he recorded relatively little. Now who died. Paul McCartney and Keith Richards were idols, at 87 years old.
(“Die Presse”, print edition, May 10, 2020)
