Little Richard's Greatest Hits

The Most Dynamic Entertainer Of The Generation : His Greatest Hits (aka Little Richard's Greatest Hits or Great Hits) is an album of Little Richard songs re-recorded in 1964 and first released in US by Vee-Jay Records in January 1965.[1] It features updated versions of twelve of his best-known songs originally recorded in the 1950s for Specialty Records.[2] Some of these re-recordings use different musical arrangements, including unusual syncopation, tambourine and jazz horns.

Little Richard's Greatest Hits
UK Fontana Records album cover
Studio album by
Little Richard
ReleasedJanuary 1965 (January 1965)
RecordedNovember / December 1964; unknown studios Nashville / New York City
GenreRock and roll
Length27:54
LabelVee-Jay Records
ProducerJoe Fields, Olsie Richard Robinson
Little Richard chronology
Little Richard Is Back (And There's A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!)
(1964)		 Little Richard's Greatest Hits
(1965)		 The Incredible Little Richard Sings His Greatest Hits – Live!
(1966)

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), Rip It Up (1973) and Talkin' 'Bout Soul (1974).

Jimi Hendrix is known to have played guitar on at least fourteen of the tracks and Eskew Reeder (aka Esquerita) is known to have played piano on two. [3][4]

Critical reception

According to Little Richard biographer Charles White, both the recordings and Richard's erratic 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."[5] 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!"[2]

Some of these renditions, which are often critically maligned as inferior were later used in film soundtracks instead of their more famous versions due to their lower licensing costs, notably The Year Of Living Dangerously with Mel Gibson, and the documentary Black Rodeo with Woody Strode. Some of these 1964 re-recordings were played regularly on big New York stations into the 1970s.

Track listing
  1. "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (John Marascalco, Robert Blackwell) (2:07)
  2. "Baby Face" (Harry Akst, Benny Davis (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. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1965-01-23). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
  2. Ruhlmann, William. "Little Richard: His Greatest Hits [Vee-Jay] – Review". AllMusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  3. McDermott, John (2010). West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology (CD set booklet). Jimi Hendrix and Esquerita. Legacy. p. 7. 88697769272.
  4. Shapiro, Harry; Glebbeek, Cesar (1990). Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy. St. Martin's Press. pp. 574–575. ISBN 0-312-05861-6.
  5. White, Charles (2003). The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography. Omnibus Press. p. 127.
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