Hear Those Jukebox Jumpin'

I was introduced to the music of Richard Wayne Penniman aka Little Richard at a very early age via my parents' (admittedly meagre) record collection. 

 

Dad doesn't listen to a lot of music these days and has long since got rid of his vinyl records, but back when i was knee high to a grasshopper, I became familiar with Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis. Chuck Berry (his favourite) and of course Little Richard. 

It's simplistic to say that Little Richard courted controversy throughout his career: from a strikingly effeminate stage persona, all pancake and bouffant, both proclaiming himself as one of the first gay music stars to come out and later denouncing homosexuality and transgender identity on several occasions, not to mention his history of substance abuse and voyeurism off stage. And Richard's complicated relationship with faith is a whole other story in itself.

 

My Dad was ignorant of all that, though, probably still is to a large extent. All that really mattered back when I was a kid was putting the vinyl on the turntable, placing the needle on the record and the sonic blast that would erupt from the speakers a second or two later.

Many, many years later I bought The Very Best Of Little Richard for a few quid: 2 CDs, 50 songs, over 120 minutes of rock 'n' roll gold. Today's selection whittles it down to an even dozen, edging a few seconds over half an hour.

You won't find Little Richard's monster hit Tutti Frutti here, but - for this listener at least - there is one cracker after another from the 1950s, culminating in Every Hour, which I think is the B-side of his very first single, Taxi Blues, way back in 1951. An incredible and inspirational body of work.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

1) I Brought It All On Myself (1955)

2) All Around The World (1956)

3) Thinkin' 'Bout My Mother (1958)

4) Heeby-Jeebies (1956)

5) I Love My Baby (1957)

6) Shake A Hand (1958)

7) Wonderin' (1958)

8) Long Tall Sally (1956)

9) Lonesome And Blue (1958)

10) Kansas City (1958)

11) Baby (1957)

12) Every Hour (1951)

Hear Those Jukebox Jumpin' (30:05) (Box) (Mega)