Every Hour With Little Richard
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Album Summary
Every Hour With Little Richard arrived in 1970 on Specialty Records, serving as a lovingly assembled collection of some of the Architect of Rock and Roll's earliest and most electrifying recordings from the mid-1950s. Rather than a fresh studio session, this release gave the world a chance to sit back and rediscover the raw, unbridled energy that Little Richard had laid down in those formative years, before the world truly knew what hit it. The album was part of Specialty's effort to bring Richard's foundational catalog back into the hands of listeners at a time when rock and roll's roots were being celebrated anew, and it stands as a document of just how far ahead of his time this Georgia dynamo truly was.
Reception
- The album did not make a significant splash on the mainstream charts upon its 1970 release, as it was largely a repackaging effort aimed at the collector and nostalgia market rather than a commercial chart assault.
- Critics and fans who sought it out greeted it warmly as an honest and soulful reminder of Little Richard's foundational genius, with many noting that tracks like 'Every Hour' showcased a tenderness and blues depth that his wilder anthems sometimes overshadowed.
- The album reinforced the growing critical consensus in the early 1970s that Little Richard's Specialty-era work represented some of the most important and emotionally rich recordings in the entire rock and roll canon.
Significance
- Every Hour With Little Richard stands as a testament to the deep blues and gospel roots that underpinned everything Little Richard ever recorded, reminding listeners that before the screaming and the spectacle, there was a man with extraordinary soul and feeling.
- The album helped shine a light on the more introspective and blues-drenched side of Little Richard's artistry, offering tracks like 'Thinkin' 'Bout My Mother' and 'Taxi Blues' that revealed the profound emotional range behind one of rock and roll's most flamboyant figures.
- Released at a pivotal moment when the rock world was reassessing its own origins, this collection served as an important cultural document connecting the raw energy of 1950s rhythm and blues to the evolving rock landscape of the early 1970s.
Tracklist
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A1 Every Hour 73
2:52
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A2 Get Rich Quick 168
2:14
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A3 Ain't Nothin' Happenin' —
2:08
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A4 Why Did You Leave Me 95
2:30
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B1 Taxi Blues 83
2:14
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B2 Please Have Mercy On Me 89
2:28
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B3 I Brought It All On Myself 122
2:48
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B4 Thinkin' 'Bout My Mother 164
2:47
Artist Details
Little Richard — born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia — is the self-proclaimed and widely acknowledged King and Queen of Rock and Roll, the man who lit the fuse on the whole beautiful explosion with his thunderous piano pounding, shrieking vocals, and a flamboyance that made the whole world stop and stare. He came roaring out of the Deep South in the mid-1950s with a sound so wild and joyful and free that it rewired the DNA of popular music forever, influencing everyone from The Beatles to James Brown to every leather-jacketed dreamer who ever sat down at a piano. By the 1970s, Little Richard had lived several lifetimes already — preacher, rock and roll pioneer, R&B visionary — and he remained a towering, irreplaceable giant whose earliest recordings continued to pulse with a life force that simply could not be contained.
