Little Richard: Directly From My Heart

Little Richard: Directly From My Heart

By Brian Rock

Little Richard. One of the few towering greats of Rock and Roll. He influenced everyone from Paul McCartney to David Lee Roth to Michael Jackson. Even Elvis covered many of his songs. He is a hall of famer who helped inspire most other hall of famers. His signature “WOO!” virtually defined the essence and excitement of early Rock and Roll. He is without a doubt, a true rock star. But in an age when anyone with a YouTube video or appearance on a reality singing show is called a “rock star,” the phrase has all but lost its meaning. So it’s important every now and then to take a moment and reflect on one of the true ROCK STARS of the genre.

Specialty Records gives us an opportunity to do just that with the new 3 disc retrospective, Directly From My Heart. With over 60 tracks covering every release he issued on the Specialty and Vee-Jay labels, this set traces the entire spectrum of Little Richard. The early singles give a glimpse of the “sock hop” ballad-y musical landscape he emerged from. Then, like a comet burning across the sky, “Tutti Frutti,” lights up the music scene like nothing before (and very little since.) Raucous, rowdy, and irrepressible, this one song changed the Rock and Roll landscape forever. The training wheels were off, and rock was off and running at full speed, with Little Richard leading the way.

You probably already know a dozen or so of the songs on this set “Lucille,” “Long Tall Sally,” “The Girl Can’t Help It,” “Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey,” “Keep A Knockin’…” but there are some truly great gems you won’t find on any single disc collection of Richard’s work. With its staccato rhythms and rousing chorus, “Ready Teddy,” is an all-time Rock anthem. “I Don’t Know What You’ve Got (But It’s Got Me)” captures the soulful yearning of the great Otis Redding. There’s the bluesy, “The Most I Can Offer,” the boogie-woogie, “True Fine Mama,” the funky, “Talkin ‘Bout Soul…” In short, every facet of early Rock and Roll is represented in this collection – in Richard’s own, inimitable style.

Billy Vera (of “At This Moment” fame) writes the liner notes on behalf of Specialty. Although not as comprehensive as I would have liked for an artist of Little Richard’s stature, it is a concise history of Richard’s musical career. (Especially entertaining is Vera’s account of the evolution of “Tutti Frutti – Good Bootie” to the title we now know.) Regardless of length, no liner notes could truly express the magnitude of Little Richard’s impact on Rock and Roll. You just have to sit and listen to the music for yourself – “Wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom!”

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