Long Tall Sally
February / March 1956
Long Tall Sally is a song by the American rock - 'n' - roll singer Little Richard from the year 1956. Was one of his most famous songs and has become a genre classic, which finds expression in hundreds of cover versions. Long Tall Sally was composed by Robert Blackwell and Little Richard, the idea for the song contributed Enotris Johnson at.
Formation
Little Richard Tutti Frutti hit on the label Specialty Records in October 1955 very successfully was covered by Pat Boone. Producer Robert Blackwell and Little Richard decided, therefore, to compose such a fast song that could covers Boone impossible.
According to a report by Blackwell him put the radio presenter Honey Chile before the about 16 -year-old Enotris Johnson, who offered him a song to sing Little Richard. Of the expected revenue Johnson wanted to pay for the treatment of a sick aunt. Ultimately, it turned out that the song consisted of only a few lines:
Blackwell did not want to offend the host, accepted the offer and presented the text of Little Richard. After initial hesitation, agreed that after he had taken a liking to the line " ducked back in the alley", which can be difficult to sing fast. Little Richard now practiced, the text to sing as soon as possible. Together with Blackwell, the song was completed with other verses and chorus. In particular, the hook We're Gonna Have Some Fun Tonight bears the composition.
According to another report, it was at Enotris Johnson to the husband of Ann Johnson, a club owner from Little Richard's hometown of Macon, who supported the singer in his early career.
A first recording took place with Guitar Slim's band in the studio Radio Recorders in Hollywood on November 29, 1955. It played, among others, Lloyd Lambert and Clarence Ford Archived under the working title The Thing Takes the session but appeared only in 1989 on a compilation of all the Specialty recordings Little Richard. Only one of the versions was published in 1972 on the bootleg Rare Recordings.
On 10 February 1956, Little Richard and Bumps Blackwell Long Tall Sally took again to J & M Studio in New Orleans. In the occupation of Little Richard on piano and vocals, Edgar Blanchard on guitar, Frank Fields on bass, Lee Allen on tenor saxophone, Alvin Tyler on baritone sax and Earl Palmer on drums played by the renowned session musicians in the studio. Long Tall Sally appeared in March 1956 as a single as Specialty 572
Success and significance
In the R & B charts of Billboard magazine, the song reached number one. Shortly thereafter, the crossover came in the pop market, where a sixth place was reached. 1957 Long Tall Sally appeared as the first song of the B-side of the debut album by Little Richard Here 's Little Richard. Thereupon, the song placed in the British charts and penetrated to third place before.
Pat Boone coverte Long Tall Sally, despite the high speed. Was it him with his cover of Tutti Frutti still managed to outdo the original artist Little Richard in the charts, it did not succeed in this with the follow-up single. Little Richard had established itself as African-American R & B artist in the genre - independent pop market and thus has contributed to the transformation of the young genre rock ' n ' roll into the musical mainstream done.
Version of the Beatles
Long Tall Sally belonged to the live repertoire of the Beatles. Paul McCartney joined emerged as the singer, in which he showed himself strongly influenced by Little Richard style.
"I could imitate Little Richard's voice, which is a crazy hoarse Kreischerei - like an out of body experience. You have to give up your momentary tenderness and also rise about a foot above your own head, able to sing the can. "
As early as 1957, so even in the days of the Quarrymen, the song was part of the group program. Which remained until the last tour in 1966, a part of most of their concerts, where it was usually played as the last song. Even at the last official concert of August 29, 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, it was the culmination of the show. Live recordings were on the albums The Beatles Live! Released Live at the BBC Volume 2 - At the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, 1962, The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, Live at the BBC and On Air. The studio recording was made on March 1, 1964 in London's Abbey Road Studios, where it was possible to achieve the same in the first take, the perfect version, so no further tests were required. During recording, the Beatles played in their classic line-up with Paul McCartney on bass, George Harrison on lead guitar, John Lennon on rhythm guitar and Ringo Starr on drums. The piano played their producer George Martin. Long Tall Sally appeared on 19 June 1964 an eponymous EP, which reached number one in the British EP charts. For the BBC, The Beatles Long Tall Sally took in the period from April 1963 to July 1964 a total of seven versions. While the title in Europe - with the exception of Germany - was only released late on albums ( in June 1976 on the compilation Rock ' n' Roll Music and in November 1978 on the compilation Rarities ), he appeared in the U.S. already in April 1964 Capitol Records LP the Beatles ' Second Album. In addition, Capitol had a stereo version of the song mixed, while the British version was published only as a mono version. On CD, the song was first released in March 1988 on the compilation Past Masters. In Germany Long Tall Sally was released as a single in 1964 and reached a top ten place, 1965, the song on the compilation The Beatles ' Greatest was included.
Version of the Kinks
In January 1964, originated in the London Pye Studios under the direction of producer Shel Talmy, the studio recording of the Kinks Long Tall Sally. Proposed had the title of Arthur Howe, then the agent of the band. Although the Kinks had Little -Richard - pieces in their live program, but Long Tall Sally was not so far to do so. The package is significantly quieter than the original version, or the version of the Beatles. Dave Davies later recalled that they had just received a record deal with Pye Records, Pye but was not willing to invest much in the unknown group. So you would have taken several pieces within three hours. At the reception, next to Dave Davies ( lead guitar and backing vocals ) nor Ray Davies (vocals and rhythm guitar), Pete Quaife (bass and backing vocal ) and studio musician Bobby Graham ( drums) were involved. The title was released on 7 February 1964 as debut single of the group. On the flip side, the Ray Davies composition I Took My Baby Home was. The single reached number 42 on the UK Singles charts of Melody Maker.
Other cover versions
Since the publication of countless cover versions of Long Tall Sally appeared, including those by Pat Boone, Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, The Tornados, Jerry Lee Lewis, Puhdys or the Scorpions.