The Explosive Little Richard: Difference between revisions

The Explosive Little Richard
The Explosive Little Richard
Studio album by Little Richard
Released	January 1967
Recorded	February 5, 1966 – September 15, 1966
Studio	Columbia, Hollywood, California
Genre	Rock and roll, soul
Length	29:49
Label	Okeh
Producer	Larry Williams
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The Explosive Little Richard is the first album by Little Richard for Okeh Records, produced by his long-time friend Larry Williams and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. The songs reflect the then-popular soul and Motown musical styles; no tracks were written by Richard.

Recording

At the time, Richard had wished Okeh would not release this album, as it favored horns over rhythm. In Charles White's 1984 biography The Life and Times of Little Richard, Richard noted he "was in the second year of the Okey (sic) contract and there was still no hit record. So I tore it up. The contract gave me no say in the material I recorded with them or in what was released. Larry Williams was the worst producer in the world. He wanted me to copy Motown and I was no Motown artist. [...] The Okeh stuff didn't sell at all because Okeh was an R'n'B label - a black label. I should have recorded on the Epic label, because I'm not primarily a black artist. It would have done a lot better."^[1]

'Poor Dog' made it to No. 41 on the R&B chart, and 'Commandments of Love' made No. 30 on The Cash Box Black Singles chart. All Okeh 45's are highly regarded in Europe where they were released on the Epic label.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Record Collector	^[2]
Rolling Stone	^[3]
AllMusic	^[4]
i-News	^[5]

CD reissues have seen the album attract positive reviews. In 2007, Record Collector gave the album four stars, and cited it as "quite possibly the best long player he ever made."^[6]

In a review of the entire Okeh recordings, Rolling Stone stated that "Richard's hair-raising vocals on the Motown staple 'Money' effectively claim the song as his own."^[7]

i-News reviewed the album for a 2016 vinyl release, giving it four stars and stating that Richard "was still blessed with an immaculate voice and threw himself wholeheartedly some great contemporary sounding tracks."^[8]

Track listing

"I Don't Want to Discuss It" (Beth Beatty, Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:28
"Land of a Thousand Dances" (Fats Domino, Chris Kenner) – 2:10
"The Commandments of Love" (Larry Williams) – 2:27
"Money (That's What I Want)" (Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy, Jr.) – 2:02
"Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)" (Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Williams) – 3:06
"I Need Love" (Williams) – 2:39
"Never Gonna Let You Go" (Cooper, Shelby) – 2:41
"Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)" (Chuck Willis) – 4:39
"Function at the Junction" (Brian Holland, Eddie Holland, Frederick Long, Lamont Dozier) – 2:35
"Well (aka Well All Right)" (Sam Cooke) – 2:56

UK CD reissue track listing

"Get Down With It" (Bobby Marchan) - 3:16 (same tune as “Do the Jerk “, composed by R. Penniman )
"Land of a Thousand Dances" (Fats Domino, Chris Kenner) – 2:10
"The Commandments of Love" (Larry Williams) – 2:27
"I Don't Want to Discuss It" (Beth Beatty, Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:28
"Money (That's What I Want)" (Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy, Jr.) – 2:02
"Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)" (Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Williams) – 3:06
"I Need Love" (Williams) – 2:39
"Never Gonna Let You Go" (Cooper, Shelby) – 2:41
"Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)" (Chuck Willis) – 4:39
"Function at the Junction" (Brian Holland, Eddie Holland, Frederick Long, Lamont Dozier) – 2:35
"Well (aka Well All Right)" (Sam Cooke) – 2:56

References

^ White, Charles. (2003). The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography. Omnibus Press.
^ Staunton, Terry. "'Ripping it up in a post-rock'n'roll world'". Record Collector. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
^ Relic, Peter. "Little Richard: Get Down With It: The Okeh Sessions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2004-08-19.
^ Ruhlmann, William. "The Explosive Little Richard – Review". AllMusic.
^ Clarke, John. "Vinyl review: The Explosive Little Richard". i-News. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
^ "The Explosive Little Richard… Plus - Record Collector Magazine". Retrieved 2021-01-08.
^ Relic, Peter (2004-08-19). "Get Down With It: The Okeh Sessions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
^ "Vinyl review - The Explosive Little Richard". inews.co.uk. 2016-09-02. Retrieved 2021-01-08.

[white-1] White, Charles. (2003). The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography. Omnibus Press.

[Record_Collector-2] Staunton, Terry. "'Ripping it up in a post-rock'n'roll world'". Record Collector. Retrieved 2007-11-01.

[Rolling_Stone-3] Relic, Peter. "Little Richard: Get Down With It: The Okeh Sessions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2004-08-19.

[AllMusic-4] Ruhlmann, William. "The Explosive Little Richard – Review". AllMusic.

[I_News-5] Clarke, John. "Vinyl review: The Explosive Little Richard". i-News. Retrieved 2016-09-02.

[6] "The Explosive Little Richard… Plus - Record Collector Magazine". Retrieved 2021-01-08.

[7] Relic, Peter (2004-08-19). "Get Down With It: The Okeh Sessions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-01-08.

[8] "Vinyl review - The Explosive Little Richard". inews.co.uk. 2016-09-02. Retrieved 2021-01-08.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox album
 | name       = The Explosive Little Richard
-| type       = Studio album
+| type       = studio
 | artist     = [[Little Richard]]
 | cover      = Explosivelittlerichard.jpg
 | alt        =
-| released   = January 1967
+| released   = {{Start date|1967|01}}
-| recorded   = 5 February 1966 - 15 September 1966
+| recorded   = February 5, 1966{{snd}}September 15, 1966
+| studio     = Columbia, Hollywood, California
-| venue      =
-| studio     = Columbia Studios, Hollywood, California
 | genre      = [[Rock and roll]], [[Soul music|soul]]
 | length     = 29:49
@@ Line 18: / Line 17: @@
 | next_year  = 1967
 }}
+'''''The Explosive Little Richard''''' is the first album by [[Little Richard]] for [[Okeh|Okeh Records]], produced by his long-time friend [[Larry Williams]] and [[Johnny "Guitar" Watson]]. The songs reflect the then-popular [[Soul music|soul]] and [[Motown]] musical styles; no tracks were written by Richard.
+==Recording==
+At the time, Richard had wished Okeh would not release this album, as it favored horns over rhythm. In Charles White's 1984 biography ''The Life and Times of Little Richard'', Richard noted he "was in the second year of the Okey (sic) contract and there was still no hit record. So I tore it up. The contract gave me no say in the material I recorded with them or in what was released. [[Larry Williams]] was the worst producer in the world. He wanted me to copy [[Motown]] and I was no Motown artist. [...] The Okeh stuff didn't sell at all because Okeh was an R'n'B label - a black label. I should have recorded on the Epic label, because I'm not primarily a black artist. It would have done a lot better."<ref name="white">White, Charles. (2003). ''The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography.'' Omnibus Press.</ref>
+'Poor Dog' made it to No. 41 on the R&B chart, and 'Commandments of Love' made No. 30 on The Cash Box Black Singles chart. All Okeh 45's are highly regarded in Europe where they were released on the Epic label.
+==Critical reception==
 {{Album ratings
 | rev1 = ''[[Record Collector]]''
-| rev1Score = {{Rating|4}}<ref name="Record Collector">{{cite web|last=Staunton |first=Terry |url=http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/the-explosive-little-richard-plus |title='Ripping it up in a post-rock’n’roll world' |publisher=[[Record Collector]] |date= |accessdate=2007-11-01}}</ref>
+| rev1Score = {{Rating|4}}<ref name="Record Collector">{{cite web|last=Staunton |first=Terry |url=http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/the-explosive-little-richard-plus |title='Ripping it up in a post-rock'n'roll world' |work=[[Record Collector]] |date= |accessdate=2007-11-01}}</ref>
 | rev2 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
-| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite web|last=Relic |first=Peter |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/get-down-with-it-the-okeh-sessions-20040819 |title='Little Richard: Get Down With It: The Okeh Sessions' |publisher=[[Rolling Stone]] |date= |accessdate=2004-08-19}}</ref>
+| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite web|last=Relic |first=Peter |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/get-down-with-it-the-okeh-sessions-20040819 |title=Little Richard: ''Get Down With It: The Okeh Sessions'' |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |date= |accessdate=2004-08-19}}</ref>
 | rev3 = ''[[AllMusic]]''
-| rev3Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|last=Ruhlmann |first=William |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-explosive-little-richard-mw0000841076 |title='Music review: The Explosive Little Richard' |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
+| rev3Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|last=Ruhlmann |first=William |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-explosive-little-richard-mw0000841076 |title=''The Explosive Little Richard''{{snd}}Review |work=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
 | rev4 = ''[[i-News]]''
-| rev4Score = {{Rating|4}}<ref name="I News">{{cite web|last=Clarke|first=John |url=https://inews.co.uk/essentials/culture/music/viny-review-explosive-little-richard |title='Vinyl review – The Explosive Little Richard' |publisher=[[i-News]] |date= |accessdate=2016-09-02}}</ref>
+| rev4Score = {{Rating|4}}<ref name="I News">{{cite web|last=Clarke|first=John |url=https://inews.co.uk/essentials/culture/music/viny-review-explosive-little-richard |title=Vinyl review: ''The Explosive Little Richard'' |work=[[i-News]] |date= |accessdate=2016-09-02}}</ref>
 }}
+CD reissues have seen the album attract positive reviews. In 2007, [[Record Collector]] gave the album four stars, and cited it as "quite possibly the best long player he ever made."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Explosive Little Richard… Plus - Record Collector Magazine|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/the-explosive-little-richard-plus|access-date=2021-01-08|language=en}}</ref>
-'''''The Explosive Little Richard''''' is the first album by [[Little Richard]] under the [[Okeh]] label, produced by Little Richard's long-time friend [[Larry Williams]] and [[Johnny "Guitar" Watson]] and reflecting the then current sound of Soul and Motown. A mixture of cover versions and originals, it featured no tracks penned by Richard himself. Despite the new direction, it failed to chart. However , two tracks had some chart activity , “Poor Dog (Who Can’t Wag His Own Tail)” and “Commandments of Love”.
-The opening track , “(You’re My Girl ) I Don’t Want To Discuss it”, went on to become a minor classic, however, recorded by [[Delaney and Bonnie and Friends]], [[Rhinoceros (band)|Rhinoceros]], and [[Eric Clapton]].
+In a review of the entire Okeh recordings, [[Rolling Stone]] stated that "Richard's hair-raising vocals on the Motown staple 'Money' effectively claim the song as his own."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Relic|first=Peter|date=2004-08-19|title=Get Down With It: The Okeh Sessions|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/get-down-with-it-the-okeh-sessions-185538/|access-date=2021-01-08|website=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref>
+[[i-News]] reviewed the album for a 2016 vinyl release, giving it four stars and stating that Richard "was still blessed with an immaculate voice and threw himself wholeheartedly some great contemporary sounding tracks."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-09-02|title=Vinyl review - The Explosive Little Richard|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/music/viny-review-explosive-little-richard-20360|access-date=2021-01-08|website=inews.co.uk|language=en}}</ref>
 == Track listing ==
 # "I Don't Want to Discuss It" (Beth Beatty, Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:28
 # "[[Land of a Thousand Dances]]" ([[Fats Domino]], [[Chris Kenner]]) – 2:10
 # "The Commandments of Love" ([[Larry Williams]]) – 2:27
 # "[[Money (That's What I Want)]]" ([[Janie Bradford]], [[Berry Gordy, Jr.]]) – 2:02
-# "Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)" ([[Johnny "Guitar" Watson]], Larry Williams) – 3:06
+# "Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)" ([[Johnny "Guitar" Watson]], Williams) – 3:06
-# "I Need Love" (Larry Williams) – 2:39
+# "I Need Love" (Williams) – 2:39
-# "Never Gonna Let You Go" (Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:41
+# "Never Gonna Let You Go" (Cooper, Shelby) – 2:41
 # "Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)" ([[Chuck Willis]]) – 4:39
 # "Function at the Junction" ([[Brian Holland]], [[Eddie Holland]], Frederick Long, [[Lamont Dozier]]) – 2:35
@@ Line 47: / Line 55: @@
 ===UK CD reissue track listing===
+# "Get Down With It" ([[Bobby Marchan]]) - 3:16 (same tune as “Do the Jerk “, composed by R. Penniman )
-# "Get Down With It" ([[Bobby Marchan]]) - 3:16
 # "[[Land of a Thousand Dances]]" ([[Fats Domino]], [[Chris Kenner]]) – 2:10
 # "The Commandments of Love" ([[Larry Williams]]) – 2:27
 # "I Don't Want to Discuss It" (Beth Beatty, Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:28
 # "[[Money (That's What I Want)]]" ([[Janie Bradford]], [[Berry Gordy, Jr.]]) – 2:02
-# "Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)" ([[Johnny "Guitar" Watson]], Larry Williams) – 3:06
+# "Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)" ([[Johnny "Guitar" Watson]], Williams) – 3:06
-# "I Need Love" (Larry Williams) – 2:39
+# "I Need Love" (Williams) – 2:39
-# "Never Gonna Let You Go" (Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:41
+# "Never Gonna Let You Go" (Cooper, Shelby) – 2:41
 # "Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)" ([[Chuck Willis]]) – 4:39
 # "Function at the Junction" ([[Brian Holland]], [[Eddie Holland]], Frederick Long, [[Lamont Dozier]]) – 2:35
-# "Well (aka Well All Right)" ([[Sam Cooke]]) – 2:56<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Little-Richard-The-Explosive-Little-Richard/release/7073553|title=Little Richard - The Explosive Little Richard|website=Discogs|language=en|access-date=2019-03-30}}</ref>
+# "Well (aka Well All Right)" ([[Sam Cooke]]) – 2:56
-==Personnel==
+==References==
+{{Reflist}}
-*Little Richard – [[vocals]], [[piano]]
-*[[Johnny "Guitar" Watson]] – [[guitar]]
-*[[Arthur G. Wright|Arthur Wright]] - orchestral arrangements
-*[[Jimi Hendrix]] - [[guitar]] - “Poor Dog” (according to Legacy liner notes)
-*[[Larry Williams]] - [[vocalist]] - presumptively , on parts of “You’re My Girl “ and “Money”
-*[[Stu Phillips (composer)|Stu Phillips]] - production supervision
-Other personnel unknown; no records kept by Okeh. The 2004 album ''Get Down With It: The OKeh Sessions'' includes a booklet that also credits the following musicians: Eddie Fletcher – [[Bass (guitar)|bass]], Glen Willings – [[guitar]].
-==Critical reception==
-CD reissues have seen the album attract positive reviews. [[Record Collector]] gave the album four stars, and cited it as "quite possibly the best long player he ever made." In a review of the entire Okeh recordings, [[Rolling Stone]] stated that "Richard's hair-raising vocals on the Motown staple "Money" effectively claim the song as his own.''"'' [[i-News]] reviewed the album for a 2016 vinyl release, giving it four stars and stating that Richard "was still blessed with an immaculate voice and threw himself wholeheartedly some great contemporary sounding tracks."
-==Charts==
-'''Single'''
-{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2"
-!align="left"|Year
-!align="left"|Single
-!align="left"|Chart
-!align="left"|Position
-|-
-|align="left"|1966
-|align="left"|"Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)/Well"
-|align="left"|Billboard Singles
-|align="left"|121
-|-
-|}
-==Cover versions==
-Richard's "I Don't Want To Discuss it" was not a hit for him but was duly noted later by Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Rhinoceros, and Rod Stewart. The song "Well" is better known as "Well Alright!", a Sam Cooke composition Richard had in the Specialty vaults at the time he cut the Okeh version (reported to feature Jimi Hendrix).
 {{Little Richard}}
+{{Authority control}}
-==References==
-{{Reflist}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Explosive Little Richard}}

v t e Little Richard
Studio albums	Here's Little Richard Little Richard The Fabulous Little Richard Pray Along with Little Richard Pray Along with Little Richard (Vol 2) The King of the Gospel Singers Little Richard Is Back (And There's a Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!) Little Richard's Greatest Hits The Wild and Frantic Little Richard The Explosive Little Richard The Rill Thing Mr. Big The King of Rock and Roll The Second Coming Right Now! Talkin' 'bout Soul Little Richard Live God's Beautiful City Lifetime Friend Shake It All About Little Richard Meets Masayoshi Takanaka Southern Child
Live albums	The Incredible Little Richard Sings His Greatest Hits - Live! Little Richard's Greatest Hits: Recorded Live!
Singles	"Tutti Frutti" "Long Tall Sally"/"Slippin' and Slidin'" "Rip It Up"/"Ready Teddy" "Heeby-Jeebies"/"She's Got It" "The Girl Can't Help It" "Lucille"/"Send Me Some Lovin'" "Jenny, Jenny"/"Miss Ann" "Keep A-Knockin'" "Good Golly, Miss Molly"/"Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" "Ooh! My Soul"/"True Fine Mama" "Baby Face" "Early One Morning "Kansas City" "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" "Crying in the Chapel" "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" "Goodnight, Irene" "Twins"
Dubious recordings	Friends from the Beginning - Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix
Related topics	Discography Billy Wright Robert Blackwell Art Rupe Esquerita Jimi Hendrix James Brown Larry Williams The Upsetters The Girl Can't Help It (film) Keep On Rockin' (film) Little Richard (miniseries)