Released October 1971 Length 42:34 Release date October 1971 Label Reprise Records | Recorded 25 May - 2 July 1971 Artist Little Richard Producer H. B. Barnum Genres Rock music, Swamp pop | |
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The King of Rock and Roll
(1971) The Second Coming
(1972) Similar The Rill Thing, The Second Coming, Little Richard Is Back (An, The Explosive Little Rich, The Incredible Little Rich | ||
The King of Rock and Roll was Little Richard's second album for Reprise Records, a follow-up album that contained one original Little Richard song, the Gospel-Rock "In The Name" and a new song co-written by Producer H. B. Barnum, "Green Power", the single release; and versions of tracks by artists as diverse as Hank Williams, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Three Dog Night, and The Rolling Stones. The title track, a mock braggadocio that referenced Tom Jones, Elvis Presley, Ike & Tina Turner, Sly and the Family Stone, and Aretha Franklin, amongst others, upset some fans, although the album's title tune got good airplay in New York - a 1950s style jump blues, with an exceptional Little Richard shouting vocal! But fans and critics were further upset that the album did not feature acoustic piano and that most tracks were badly mixed, with an intrusive girl group chorus.
Contents
Critical Appreciation
The album received a largely negative review in Rolling Stone magazine, where Vince Aletti stated Much of the album seems designed around the Talk Show Personality rather than the Singer, giving it the sticky veneer of a jive extravaganza.
Track listing
- "King of Rock 'n' Roll" (Bradford Craig, H.B. Barnum) - 3:11
- "Joy To The World" (Hoyt Axton) – 6:49
- "Brown Sugar" (Keith Richards, Mick Jagger) – 3:23
- "In The Name" (Richard Penniman) – 3:10
- "Dancing in the Street" (Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson) – 5:31
- "Midnight Special" (Traditional; arranged by Richard Penniman) – 4:02
- "The Way You Do the Things You Do" (Robert Rogers, William Robinson) – 3:29
- "Green Power" (H.B. Barnum, John "Skip" Anderson) – 3:59
- "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (Hank Williams) – 2:40
- "Settin' The Woods On Fire" (Ed G. Nelson, Fred Rose) – 2:22
- "Born on the Bayou" (John C. Fogerty) – 4:27
Personnel
Rest of personnel unknown, records not kept by Reprise.
Charts
Album
Songs
1King of Rock and Roll3:11
2Joy to the World6:49
3Brown Sugar3:23