Little Richard's Greatest Hits

Great Hits

UK Fontana Records album cover
Studio album by Little Richard
Released 1965 (1965)
Recorded December 1964; Domino Club, Atlanta, Georgia
Genre Rock 'n' Roll
Length 27:54
Label Vee-Jay Records
Producer Joe Fields, Olsie Richard Robinson
Little Richard chronology
Little Richard Is Back (And There's A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!)
(1964)		 Great Hits
(1965)		 The Incredible Little Richard Sings His Greatest Hits - Live!
(1966)

Great Hits (or His Greatest His) is an album of Little Richard songs re-recorded in 1964 and first released by Vee-Jay Records in 1965. It features updated versions of twelve of his best-known songs originally recorded in the 1950s for Specialty Records.[1] Some of these re-recordings use different musical arrangements, including unusual syncopation, tambourine and jazz horns.

Background

Little Richard recorded forty-six songs for Vee-Jay Records, but nearly half of them were unreleased when the company filed for bankruptcy in January 1966. Eventually, they were compiled onto albums, such as: Mr. Big (1971), Friends from the Beginning - Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix (1972), Rip It Up (1973) and Talkin' 'Bout Soul (1974).

Jimi Hendrix is known to have played guitar on some tracks and Eskew Reeder (aka Esquerita) is playing piano on some on the album. .[2][3]

Critical reception

According to Little Richard biographer Charles White, both the recordings and Richard's self-parodying persona of the time are regarded as low points in his career: "blinded by commercial considerations, they [Vee-Jay] rushed the session without concern for quality. The result was dreadful."[4] AllMusic critic William Ruhlmann noted "Little Richard is in much rougher voice than he was when he did the originals, but he remains a spirited performer. Just don't buy this album thinking you are getting the hit versions of these songs!"[1] These "sub-standard" cuts still have found their way onto major movie soundtracks, such as "The Year Of Living Dangerously", with Mel Gibson.

Track listing

  1. "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (John Marascalco, Robert Blackwell) (2:07)
  2. "Baby Face" (Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Ron Buzzel) (2:33)
  3. "Tutti Frutti" (Dorothy LaBostrie, Richard Penniman) (2:24)
  4. "Send Me Some Lovin'" (John Marascalco, Leo Price) (2:19)
  5. "The Girl Can't Help It" (Bobby Troup) (3:02)
  6. "Lucille" (Albert Collins, Richard Penniman) (2:16)
  7. "Slippin' and Slidin'" (Richard Penniman) (2:26)
  8. "Keep A Knockin'" (Richard Penniman) (2:15)
  9. "Rip It Up" (John Marascalco, Robert Blackwell) (2:02)
  10. "She's Got It" (John Marascalco, Richard Penniman) (2:11)
  11. "Ooh! My Soul" (Richard Penniman) (2:17)
  12. "Long Tall Sally" (Earl Johnson, Robert Blackwell, Richard Penniman) (2:03)

References

  1. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Little Richard: His Greatest Hits [Vee-Jay] – Review". AllMusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  2. ↑ McDermott, John (2010). West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology (CD set booklet). Jimi Hendrix and Esquerita. Legacy. p. 7. 88697769272.
  3. ↑ Shapiro, Harry; Glebbeek, Cesar (1990). Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy. St. Martin's Press. pp. 574–575. ISBN 0-312-05861-6.
  4. ↑ White, Charles (2003). The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography. Omnibus Press. p. 127.
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