Larry Williams(néLawrence Eugene WilliamsakaLawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to 1959 for Specialty Records, including "Bony Moronie", "Short Fat Fannie", "Slow Down", "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" (1958), "Bad Boy" and "She Said Yeah" (1959). John Lennon was a fan, and The Beatles and several other British Invasion groups recorded several of his songs.
"Good Golly, Miss Molly" is a hit rock 'n' roll song first recorded in 1956 by the American musician Little Richard and released in January 1958 as Specialty single 624 and next in July 1958 on Little Richard. The song, a jump blues, was written by John Marascalco and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell. Although it was first recorded by Little Richard, Blackwell produced another version by the Valiants, who imitated the fast first version recorded by Little Richard, not released at this time. Although the Valiants' version was released first, Little Richard had the hit, reaching #4. Like all his early hits, it quickly became a rock 'n' roll standard and has subsequently been recorded by hundreds of artists. The song is ranked #94 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"Tutti Frutti" is a song written by Little Richard along with Dorothy LaBostrie that was recorded in 1955 and became his first major hit record. With its opening cry of "A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!" and its hard-driving sound and wild lyrics, it became not only a model for many future Little Richard songs, but also a model for rock and roll itself. The song introduced several of rock music's most characteristic musical features, including its loud volume and vocal style emphasizing power, and its distinctive beat and rhythm.
Robert Alexander "Bumps" Blackwell was an American bandleader, songwriter, arranger, and record producer, best known for his work overseeing the early hits of Little Richard, as well as grooming Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson, Lloyd Price, Sam Cooke, Herb Alpert, Larry Williams, and Sly and the Family Stone at the start of their music careers.
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 Rill Thing was Little Richard's comeback album after a three-year hiatus on new albums. Utilising yet another new sound, the largely country rock album contained Little Richard's biggest post-Specialty single in "Freedom Blues", which broke the Billboard top 50, and a lesser success with the follow-up single, "Greenwood, Mississippi", which made the top 100; although the tune made number 56 on Cashbox Black Singles. The title track itself was a ten-minute plus instrumental penned by Richard. Despite the success of the two tracks as singles and the inclusion of two cover versions, the album itself failed to chart..
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.
Little Richard's Greatest Hits is an album of Little Richard songs re-recorded in 1964 and first released 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.
Rip It Up is a compilation release featuring tracks from the Vee-Jay Records vaults. All of the tracks had been previously available.
Right Now! is a studio album by Little Richard, released in 1974. It was released without much publicity on the United Records label. The album features "Chain Chain Chain", more commonly known under the title "Chain of Fools".
Little Richard Live! 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. As of 2013, these October 1976 sessions and an early 1990s set with Japanese guitar man, Takanakka, are the last times that Penniman re-recorded his mid-1950s hits in the studio. Alternate takes from these sessions are found on a full stereo "Audiophile" album from 1980.
The Fabulous Little Richard was the third album from Little Richard, and the end of his rock and roll period. Released seventeen months after he had left the Specialty Records label, Richard had returned to religion and turned his back on the music that made him famous. Though he would briefly rescind that decision in 1962, and sporadically throughout his career, this album marked the end of his peak period. In order to make the record more accessible to listeners, over half of the tracks featured an overdubbed female backing group. The record was put together including out-takes and other leftover studio tracks, which saw Richard in a somewhat more mellow styling.
Charles "Chas" White, known as Dr Rock, is an Irish-born BBC Radio and TV presenter and book author.
William Wright was a jump blues singer from the U.S. He is considered one of Little Richard's greatest influences in his formative years.
The Village of St. Bernadette is the sixth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in early 1960 by Cadence Records. It was described by Billboard magazine as "a lovely set of pop inspirational, hymns, and religious themes".
The King of the Gospel Singers is the sixth studio album from Little Richard, discounting compilations. A gospel album from sessions he recorded for the Mercury Records label, it is generally regarded as being a better recording than his two albums with the Goldner label.
Pray Along with Little Richard Volume 2 was the second gospel album by Little Richard, and his fifth album overall, discounting compilations.
Lifetime Friend is an album by Little Richard, and his first album in seven years since the release of the 1979 gospel album, God's Beautiful City. Following that album's release and some 1981 recordings, Richard had made no recordings while he continued his career in the ministry. Following the release of his autobiography, The Quasar of Rock and Roll, in 1984, Richard reemerged in the public eye and had begun to be recognized for his contributions to popular music as one of the founders of rock and roll music.
