“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.
