"Long Tall Sally", also known as "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)", is a
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
song written by
Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson, and
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...
and released on Richard's album ''
Here's Little Richard''. Richard recorded it for
Specialty Records, which released it as a single in March 1956, backed with "
Slippin' and Slidin'.
The single reached number one on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
chart, staying at the top for six of 19 weeks,
while peaking at number six on the
pop chart. It received the ''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' Triple Crown Award in 1956. The song as sung by Little Richard is listed at number 55 on ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''s list of
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It also ranked at number 45 on ''Billboard''s
year-end singles of 1956.
It became one of the singer's best-known hits and has become a rock and roll standard
covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of ...
by hundreds of artists, including
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
,
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...
,
the Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
and
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
.
In 1999, the 1956
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...
recording of "Long Tall Sally" on Specialty Records was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame.
History
"
Tutti Frutti" was a big hit for Little Richard and
Specialty in early 1956, reaching number two on the
R&B charts.
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films.
Boone ...
's cover version of the song from his album
''Pat Boone'' reached number 12 on the
pop charts. Although this meant an unexpected cash income for the Specialty publishing firm,
A&R man and producer
Robert "Bumps" Blackwell and a proud Richard decided to write a song that was so up-tempo and the lyrics so fast that Boone would not be able to handle it. (Boone eventually did record his own version, however, which reached number 18.)
According to Blackwell, he was introduced to a little girl by Honey Chile, a popular
disc-jockey. The girl had written a song for Little Richard to record so she could pay the treatment for her ailing aunt Mary. The song, actually a few lines on a piece of paper, went like this:
Not wishing to upset an influential disc-jockey, Blackwell accepted the offer and took the idea to Richard, who was reluctant at first. Nevertheless, the line "ducked back in the alley" was exactly what they were looking for, and Richard kept practicing until he could sing it as fast as possible. They worked on the song, adding verses and a chorus, until they got the hit they wanted. Enotris Johnson (1935–2015) was a local songwriter; her involvement in writing the song, and others, was uncertain until it was confirmed by her family after her death. Featuring a
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...
solo by
Lee Allen (as did "Tutti Frutti"), "Long Tall Sally" was the best-selling 45 in the history of Specialty Records.
Recording
The recording session took place on February 7, 1956, at
J&M Recording Studio in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
owned by
Cosimo Matassa on the corner of
Rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department
** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...
and Dumaine where
Fats Domino and many other New Orleans luminaries recorded. "Long Tall Sally", as well as many other Little Richard sides, was also recorded there.
The music was a fast
uptempo number with Little Richard's hammering,
boogie
Boogie is a repetition (music), repetitive, swung note, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . groove (music), "groove" or pattern used in blues which was origina ...
piano. Richard plays staccato straight eighth notes while drummer
Earl Palmer plays a fast
shuffle. The shuffle was the most common rhythm and blues beat; Richard added the straight eighth notes, much less common in that time, although now standard for
rock music
Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
. Together this created an ambiguity in the ride rhythm—known to musicians as "playing in the crack" that came to characterize New Orleans (and also
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
)
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
. In typical Little Richard style, he sang in the
key of F, in a raw, aggressive, exhilarating style with lyrics being about self-centered fun.
Personnel
According to
Chris Morris'
liner notes
Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards.
Origin
Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
to the 2017 reissue of ''
Here's Little Richard'':
*
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...
vocals, piano
*
Lee Allen tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...
*
Edgar Blanchard guitar
*
Frank Fields double bass
The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...
*
Earl Palmer drums
*
Alvin "Red" Tyler baritone saxophone
Certifications
The Kinks version
Background
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
started performing in early 1963 under various names, including the Ravens.
Their members at the time consisted of
Ray Davies
Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...
,
Dave Davies,
Pete Quaife and Mickey Willet. Looking to branch out, the Kinks sought out a manager, and after a few unsuccessful meetings, they met
Larry Page
Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American businessman, computer engineer and computer scientist best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin.
Page was chief executive officer of Google from 1997 until August 2001 when ...
, who promised the group a certain degree of fame. Page introduced the Ravens to American record producer
Shel Talmy along with
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' promoter,
Arthur Howes, who was their tour manager. Talmy managed to secure the group a recording contract with
Pye Records, who he previously had been collaborating with. Shortly before signing, Willet left the group, upon which they hired drummer
Mick Avory who had placed an ad in ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
''.
Towards the end of 1963, the Ravens also decided to change their name, becoming the Kinks instead. Unsure of what material they should record as their debut single, Howes, who had heard the Beatles perform "Long Tall Sally" in Paris on January 16, suggested that the Kinks should record the number. However, as the Beatles only performed the track live (and would not record it in the studio for another three months), Howes and Page both noted the commercial opportunity of putting the song on record before the Beatles had time to do so. Page quickly instructed the band to learn the track and on 20 January, the group together with Talmy entered Pye Studios for the first time. They recorded five songs that session: "Long Tall Sally", "I Took My Baby Home", "
You Still Want Me", "You Do Something to Me" and "I Don't Need You Anymore".
Session musician
A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
Bobby Graham played drums on all five songs.
Release and reception
The Kinks' version was a modernized arrangement of the song, omitting the frantic piano found in the original, along with moving away from R&B towards a contemporary rock sound. The rhythm of the Kinks rendition also changes, instead being more similar to Little Richard's later hit "
Lucille". Unlike other versions, it features a "wailing harmonica solo" played by Ray.
Rob Jovanovic writes that their arrangement is similar to the Beatles version, right down to a couple of phrasings in some verses. However, Thomas Kitts states that "their
Merseybeat arrangement zapped the energy from the song" and that Ray's vocals "lacked the necessary fire and punch of either Little Richard or
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
". Kitts believes that Dave, "who might have sung with more abandonment", should have taken the lead vocals.
The Kinks version would eventually be released through Pye Records on February 7, 1964, in the UK and later on
Cameo Records in the US on April 1, 1964.
The B-side was the Ray Davies original "I Took My Baby Home", which was a "beat-driven rhythm and blues" number. Though Page advertised and promoted "Long Tall Sally" in the media via "an aggressive campaign", it would fail to reach the ''
Record Retailer
''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The ti ...
'' charts. It did, however, reach number 42 for a week in ''Melody Maker''
's Pop 30, giving the Kinks their first commercial success. Following their breakthrough in America, "Long Tall Sally" managed to reach the
''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in January 1965, staying there for two weeks and peaking at number 129.
In
''Disc'' magazine,
Don Nicholl
Donald Nicholl (August 9, 1925 – July 5, 1980) was an English screenwriter and producer who later worked in the United States.
Early life
Nicholl was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Sunderland, England. He worked as a journalist, columnis ...
gave the single three out of five stars.
He writes that despite the Kinks "dress to fit the title", they play "in the most conventional rock fashion, I'm afraid".
He states that he prefers Little Richard's original and calls "I Took My Baby Home" a better song.
In ''
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...
'', "Long Tall Sally" is described as "pounding stuff" and is considered a very commercial version of the song.
Personnel
According to band researcher Doug Hinman:
The Kinks
*
Ray Davies
Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...
lead vocal, rhythm guitar, harmonica
*
Dave Davies backing vocal, lead guitar
*
Pete Quaife backing vocal, bass
Additional musician
*
Bobby Graham drums
Charts
The Beatles version
The Beatles were admirers of Little Richard, and regularly performed his songs during their live act. "Long Tall Sally" was the most durable song in their live repertoire, lasting from their earliest days as
the Quarrymen
The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the ...
in 1957 through to their last public concert in August 1966. As with the majority of their Little Richard remakes,
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
sang lead vocals, as he could closely imitate Richard's vocal style.
The group recorded "Long Tall Sally" at
EMI Studios in London on March 1, 1964, during sessions for
''A Hard Day's Night'', although it was ultimately not included on that album. The recording was produced by the Beatles' regular producer,
George Martin, who also played piano on the track. Given the group's familiarity with the song, the recording was completed in a single take.
In the United Kingdom, "Long Tall Sally" was released on the UK EP
of the same name on June 19, 1964, but it had been released earlier on two overseas albums, ''
The Beatles' Second Album'' in the United States on April 10, 1964, and ''
The Beatles' Long Tall Sally'' in Canada on May 11, 1964. Released as a single in Sweden, the song reached number two on ''
Tio i Topp'' in June and topped the
Kvällstoppen Chart in July and August. It also reached number one in Denmark.
On March 7, 1988, the song appeared on ''
Past Masters'', a compilation album that compiles every song commercially released by the band that was neither included on the 12 UK studio albums nor the US ''
Magical Mystery Tour''
LP, making it appear for the first time to be included on a core catalogue album.
The song appears in the 1994 film ''
Backbeat''. Upon viewing it,
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
was reported to say:
Other Beatles recordings and performances
In addition to their studio recording of the song, the Beatles recorded "Long Tall Sally" for
BBC radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
broadcasts on seven occasions during 1963 and 1964. Two of those versions have been officially released, on the compilation albums
''Live at the BBC'' (1994) and ''
On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2'' (2013). In addition, a studio version, prerecorded specially from the 1964 television special ''
Around the Beatles'', was included on the ''
Anthology 1'' compilation (1995). The live album ''
The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl'' (1977) includes a 1964 concert recording of the song.
"Long Tall Sally" was the last song the Beatles performed live in front of a paying audience. It was a frequent set closer during their
1966 tour—which would turn out to be their last—and they used it to close out their final show at
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
's
Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966. The band asked their press officer,
Tony Barrow, to make an audio tape recording of the concert for posterity. The recording has since circulated heavily among bootleggers, but the 30-minute tape ran out at the end of the second verse of "Long Tall Sally", meaning that the last moments of the Beatles' final paid performance are lost to history.
Personnel
According to
Ian MacDonald, except where noted:
The Beatles
*
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
lead vocals, bass
*
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
rhythm guitar, guitar solo (first)
*
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
lead guitar, guitar solo (second)
*
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
drums
Additional musician
*
George Martin piano
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
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{{authority control
1956 singles
Little Richard songs
The Beatles songs
1964 debut singles
The Kinks songs
Elvis Presley songs
Pat Boone songs
Jerry Lee Lewis songs
Eddie Cochran songs
Buzz Clifford songs
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Songs written by Robert Blackwell
Songs written by Little Richard
Song recordings produced by George Martin
Song recordings produced by Robert Blackwell
Song recordings produced by Shel Talmy
Specialty Records singles
Pye Records singles
1956 songs