Tutti Frutti (song)
| Tutti Frutti | |
|---|---|
| Little Richard | |
| publication | November 1955 |
| length | 2:25 |
| Genre (s) | Rock and roll |
| Author (s) |
Richard Penniman , Dorothy La Bostrie |
| Publisher (s) | Venice Music |
| Award (s) | RS500 # 43 |
| album | Here's Little Richard |
| Cover versions | |
| 1956 | Pat Boone |
| 1956 | Elvis Presley |
| 1971 | Fair weather |
Tutti Frutti (Italian: "all fruits") is a classic of the rock 'n' roll era, originally by Little Richard from 1955 and according to Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) registered with 15 cover versions . The song ranks 43rd on the list of the 500 best songs of all time published by the music magazine Rolling Stone .
History of origin
The first recording session for Little Richard was booked by his new record company Specialty Records in Cosimo Matassa's recording studio in New Orleans for September 13th and 14th, 1955. Bumps Blackwell , the label's producer, was satisfied with the first four blues recordings on September 13th, but couldn't identify a hit from them. The next day, however, the situation changed. Little Richard pounded the piano during a recording break and started with "Womp-bomp-a-loom-op-a-womp-bam-boom". He probably intended with this onomatopoeia (in technical language: onomatopoeia ) to verbally imitate a drum kit.
This unusual intro was followed by an even more unusual text. It was clear to the studio people that the risky text passages had to be defused in order not to provoke radio censorship . The original passages “Tutti Frutti, good booty / If it don't fit, don't force it / You can grease it, make it easy” by the copywriter Dorothy La Bostrie were replaced by “Tutti Frutti, all rooty! Tutti Frutti, all rooty ”(in other spelling and interpretation also“ aw rooty ”or“ unruly ”) (“ all rooty ”was a youth expression of the time for“ OK ”), for which La Bostrie alongside Richard Penniman (the real name Little Richards) appeared as a co-author. The first stanza was ambiguous, however:
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I got a girl, named Sue |
I have a girl named Sue who |
The possible meaning of the English verb to rock spans a rhythmic movement from dance to sexual intercourse.
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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On September 14th 1955 the studio band of Cosimo Matassa was present in the studio next to Little Richard (vocals, piano) . This consisted of Justin Adams (guitar), Frank Fields (bass), Lee Allen (tenor saxophone), Alvin “Red” Tyler (baritone saxophone) and Earl Palmer (drums). The single Tutti Frutti / I'm Just a Lonely Guy (Specialty # 561) was released in November 1955 and first made it onto the Rhythm & Blues chart, where it stayed in second place for six weeks; the pop hit parade listed the title at 17th place. The song was sold over three million times.
Cover versions (selection)
The first cover version was the B-side of I'll Be Home , intended by Pat Boone as a crossover for the pop market , which was also released in December 1955. The lyrics were revised by the songwriter Joe Lubin . Elvis Presley recorded his authentic version on March 23, 1956 for his LP Elvis Presley , which was also released as a single. Carl Perkins released a rockabilly- like version on November 3, 1958 . Furthermore, Queen played the song at concerts.
On December 2, 1956, Peter Kraus recorded his first record in the Austrophon studio in Vienna with the German version of Tutti Frutti . The release of Polydor followed in the same month on vinyl single and shellac record . It was not until January 1957 that Elvis Presley's version appeared on the RCA label in Teldec's distribution in Germany . The latter finally brought the original version of Little Richard onto the German market on the London label in June 1957 .
The German band Trio released a single with a minimalist cover version in 1984, which went largely unnoticed in Germany, but became a top 20 hit in New Zealand .
Also in 1984 the Flying Lizards released a version that - not unlike that of Trio - counteracts the groove of rock'n'roll in the style of New Wave . Her album Top Ten contains nothing but such deconstructed versions of well-known oldies.
Web links
- Video interview with Art Rupe about Tutti Frutti
- Chronology Little Richard
Individual evidence
- ↑ BMI registration by Tutti Frutti ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Jim Cogan, William Clark: Temples Of Sound - Inside the Great Recording Studios . 2003, p. 104
- ↑ Nick Tosches: Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll . 1st edition. Da Capo Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-306-80891-9 , Introduction, pp. 1-11 (1991, 1984).
- ^ Joel Whitburn: Hot R&B Songs. Billboard 1942-2010 . 6th edition. Record Research, Menomonee Falls 2010, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 , The Artist Section, pp. 401 (American English).
- ^ Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Record Research, Menomonee Falls 1995, pp. 359 (American English).
- ↑ UK: Little Richard. In: Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 30, 2015 .
- ^ Charles White: The Life and Times of Little Richard. 1985, p. 227
- ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records. 1985, p. 90
- ↑ Chart listing on charts.org.nz
