Tutti Frutti (song)

"Tutti Frutti" was Little Richard's first hit record in 1955, with its opening cry of "Womp-bomp-a-loom-op-a-womp-bam-boom!" and its hard-driving sound and wild lyrics, it became not only a model for many future Little Richard songs, but also one of the models for rock and roll.

Little Richard had had an unsuccessful career until producer Bumps Blackwell recorded him in New Orleans for Specialty Records. During the sessions, Blackwell heard Little Richard singing a wild song with the sexually adventurous chorus:

Tutti futti, good booty

Blackwell changed the lyric to

Tutti frutti, all rooty

replacing the slang for "buttocks" with the slang for "all right". The song was plenty wild without the original lyrics and Blackwell and Richard had a hit. Originally tutti frutti was a food containing many fruits.

The song has been covered by many musicians. After Pat Boone's success with "Ain't That a Shame", his next single was "Tutti Frutti", markedly toned down. Queen regularly played it during their live shows in the 1970s and 1980s. It is also featured during the T. Rex jam session with Elton John during the 1972 rock film Born to Boogie. It is the first song on the MC5 album, Back in the USA.

See the main article on Little Richard for more detail. This song was the cornerstone of Little Richard's career.