Richard Wayne Penniman, known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Architect of Rock and Roll", Richard's most celebrated work dates from the mid-1950s, when his charismatic showmanship and dynamic music, characterized by frenetic piano playing, pounding back beat and raspy shouted vocals, laid the foundation for rock and roll. Richard's innovative emotive vocalizations and uptempo rhythmic music also played a key role in the formation of other popular music genres, including soul and funk. He influenced numerous singers and musicians across musical genres from rock to hip hop; his music helped shape rhythm and blues for generations.
Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
Eddie Harris was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-known compositions are "Freedom Jazz Dance", popularized by Miles Davis in 1966, and "Listen Here."
"Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1967. It is a slower tempo, rhythm and blues-inspired ballad featuring Hendrix's vocal and guitar with recording studio effects accompanied by bass, drums, and glockenspiel. Lyrically, it is one of several of his songs that reference an idealized feminine or guardian angel-like figure. At about two and a half minutes in length, it is one of his most concise and melodically focused pieces.
Donald James Randolph, better known by the stage name Don Covay, was an American R&B, rock and roll, and soul singer-songwriter most active from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Eskew Reeder, Jr., usually known by the stage name Esquerita, and occasionally as S.Q. Reeder or The Magnificent Malochi, was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist, known for his frenetic performances. He has been credited with influencing rock and roll pioneer Little Richard.
Glad All Over Again is a compilation album by The Dave Clark Five, released in 1993.
Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter whose career spanned from 1962 to 1970. His discography includes the recordings released during his lifetime. Prior to his rise to fame, he recorded 24 singles as a backing guitarist with American R&B artists, such as the Isley Brothers and Little Richard. Beginning in late 1966, he recorded three best-selling studio albums and 13 singles with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. An Experience compilation album and half of a live album recorded at the Monterey Pop Festival were also issued prior to his death. After the breakup of the Experience in mid-1969, songs from his live performances were included on the Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More and Band of Gypsys albums. A studio single with the Band of Gypsys was also released.
"Mercy, Mercy" is a soul song first recorded by American singer/songwriter Don Covay in 1964. It established Covay's recording career and influenced later vocal and guitar styles. The songwriting is usually credited to Covay and Ron Alonzo Miller, although other co-writers' names have also appeared on various releases.
Little Richard's Greatest Hits - Recorded Live! is the second and last album by Little Richard for the Okeh label. A live album, it was recorded in the CBS Studios at Hollywood.
The Second Coming was Little Richard's third album for Reprise Records, and saw him reunited with Robert "Bumps" Blackwell from his Specialty days, with them co-writing the majority of the album together. The concept was to unite the best rock studio musicians of the '50s with the best rock studio musicians of the '70s. Many fans were disappointed in the material and in the over-syncopated, over-produced tracks. The album again failed to chart.
Southern Child is an unreleased album by Little Richard, scheduled to be released in 1972 as his third album for Reprise Records. It was going to be Reprise RS 2097. For unconfirmed reasons the album was shelved in favour of The Second Coming, released in October. The tracks comprising the album were released in 2005 from Rhino Records as part of their Complete Reprise Recordings collection.
Friends from the Beginning – Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix is an album with songs purportedly recorded by Little Richard between 1964 and its 1972 release date. Contrary to the album title and claims in the liner notes, Jimi Hendrix does not contribute anything to the recording. Little Richard's involvement in some of the songs has also been questioned.
Little Richard Is Back is Little Richard's first album of rock and roll songs for Vee-Jay Records. The label went out of business and its records were not accurate, leaving many to speculate about the recording details. Despite claims to the contrary, Jimi Hendrix does not play on any of the album's songs.
Little Richard's Greatest Hits is an album of Little Richard songs re-recorded in 1964 and first released in the US by Vee-Jay Records in January 1965. It features updated versions of twelve of his best-known songs originally recorded in the 1950s for Specialty Records. Some of these re-recordings use different musical arrangements, including unusual syncopation, tambourine and jazz horns.
Talkin' 'bout Soul consisted of tracks recorded by Little Richard for Vee-Jay Records in 1964 and 1965. All of the songs had been released before except "You Better Stop". "Something Moves In My Heart" had previously been included on the 1971 UK released album, Mr. Big, under the title "Every Time I Think About You". This album is essentially the Mr. Big album with one extra previously unreleased track.
The Incredible Little Richard Sings His Greatest Hits – Live! is the first of two albums Little Richard made for the Modern Records label. A live recording from the Domino Club in Atlanta compiled from more than one concert, all the tracks on the album have overdubbed audience noises.
The Wild and Frantic Little Richard is the second and last Little Richard album released on the Modern Records label. It is composed of songs released on singles during his time with the label, live tracks, and material licensed or left over from Vee-Jay.. Some tracks released on 45 were different versions, shorter or longer, with or without horns and overdubs. Live material appears to be from 1 December 1965, at the Domino Club, Atlanta, Georgia. Studio from 31 August 1964, Los Angeles; 1 January 1966, Memphis.
K-tel Presents Little Richard Live! 20 Super Hits is Little Richard's first album of new material since 1974, and the first album he had recorded since 1973. Recorded at the Jack Clement Studio in Nashville, the album featured remakes of twenty of his Specialty Records tracks. If you count live takes, this was actually the fifth or sixth time that Richard had recorded his classic mid-1950s hits. Despite the album's title, the tracks are studio recordings, not live performances. These August 1976 sessions and an early 1990s set with Japanese guitarist, Masayoshi Takanakka, are the last times that Penniman would re-record his mid-1950s hits for a studio album before Penniman's death in May 2020. Alternate takes from these sessions are found on a full stereo "Audiophile" album from 1980.
This page is a discography for American musician Little Richard. Described as "the architect of rock and roll", Little Richard was a pioneering singer-songwriter whose career also encompassed rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel. He began his recording career in 1951, signing to RCA Victor, releasing his first singles, and his first album in 1957, although he released his last album in 1992, he continued to tour into the 21st century. He attained international success after signing with Specialty Records in 1955.
