Little Richard: "Ooh! My Soul" c/w "True, Fine Mama" (Specialty 633, rel. May 1958)

 

Welcome to the new home of Frank’s Jukebox! (Truth told, this Blogspot site has been up for four years now…you just didn’t know it!) I am thankful you’ve made the trip here and I hope to see you every day (or fairly often…you can always catch up if you miss a couple of days).

Nothing says rock ‘n’ roll like Richard Penniman, and here’s a 1958 Specialty Records 45 that was a medium-size hit; both sides charted, with the A making the Top 40 mid-year. It isn’t played all the time, like Little Richard’s bigger hits, and the A reveals the fey side of this mercurial star. The Beatles liked it; Paul McCartney does his heterosexual take on this rave in the group’s BBC broadcasts, which showcase a wealth of cover versions (and one original) the Fab Four never otherwise recorded.

Richard camps it up on the song’s title phrase; otherwise, it’s turbo-charged hard-edged rock ‘n’ roll at 110 MPH. This track comes from a January 16, 1957 session cut at a Washington, DC radio station—hence the muddier-than-usual sound. Richard and his band re-cut it in LA but that version was unissued. The cramped, murky sound adds to the wild vibe of this manic mover, which features a memorable tenor sax stand by Clifford Burks. At just under two minutes, it’s a sonic wallop that explodes in your ears and leaves you dazed in its aftermath. Perfect for your Monday morning!

Hear it >>>>> HERE. <<<<<

On the flip, “True, Fine Mama,” which had a different and earlier catalog number printed on its first pressings, comes from a November 29, 1955 session at Radio Recorders in LA. The track debuted on Little Richard’s debut LP, released in March 1957. With The Upsetters on backup vocals and the band at its early best, this is a stellar slice of rockin’ r&b from the upsetting year of 1955, when the music scene changed forever—thanks, in part, to Little Richard, whose “Tutti Frutti” was one of the core records in this revolutionary act of mercy.

The Cash Box review reproduced here is blurry—as if Richard’s music, even in theory, upset the printing press—but it offers an enthusiastic endorsement of two sides that represented a place-holder for this petulant rock ‘n’ roll star. None of the condescension, outrage or disgust accorded Richard’s music by the status quo of white America is here; just admiration for a commercial rock ‘n’ roll single that would generate coin for all parties involved.

One tries to imagine how wild, unsettling and threatening Richard’s music and persona once seemed to the mainstream world. His Specialty singles served to outrage the status quo and their suggestion of a pansexual personality—never overtly stated—might have made these now-beloved performances alienating and polarizing to the decorum of adult America. I find it hard to fathom, but Richard’s music and personality did have that effect on the squares and led to certain older influencers going after this “jungle music” with the same censorial fervor given to comic books, paperback novels and movies. Fussers gotta fuss, then and now; were a new Little Richard to appear, it’s possible backwards-thinking right-wingers might respond as the good folks of ’55 did.

And dig this ’55 side >>>>> HERE. <<<<<

Tomorrow: Etta James on a great 1963 Argo single that flirts with the girl-group sound on one side and goes into country-jazz on the flip.