''The Second Coming'' was

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 ...

's third album for

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

, released in 1972. The album saw him reunited with

Robert "Bumps" Blackwell Robert Alexander "Bumps" Blackwell (May 23, 1918 – March 9, 1985) was an American bandleader, songwriter, arranger, and record producer, best known for his work overseeing the early hits of Little Richard, as well as mentoring Ray Char ...

from his

Specialty Specialty or speciality may refer to: * Deed, a contract in law * Index of speciality, a geometrical invariant * ''Speciality'' (album), an album by J-Pop singer Nami Tamaki * Specialty (medicine), a field within medicine * Specialty (dentistry), ...

days, with them co-writing the majority of the album together. The concept was to unite the best rock studio musicians of the '50s with the best rock studio musicians of the '70s. The album failed to chart.

History

Little Richard's profile was high during this period, with works including a track, "Miss Ann", on the album '' To Bonnie from Delaney'', a still unreleased track with

Joey Covington Joseph Edward Covington (born Joseph Edward Michno; June 27, 1945 – June 4, 2013) was an American drummer, best known for his involvements with Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship. Early life Though best known for his work w ...

of The Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, "Bludgeon of a Bluecoat (The Man)", a duet with

Mylon LeFevre Mylon Rae LeFevre (October 6, 1944 – September 8, 2023) was an American Christian rock singer known for his work with his band Mylon and Broken Heart. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and traveled around the United States, mi ...

on his 1972 release, "He's Not Just a Soldier", a cover of his 1961 Mercury track, and two tracks on the soundtrack to '' $''. He also cut "But I Try" with

The James Gang James Gang was an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. The band went through a variety of line-up changes until they recorded their first album as a power trio consisting of Joe Walsh (guitars, lead vocals), Tom Kriss (bass) and ...

(unreleased until 2013), and "Rockin' With the King", with

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American blues rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The group has been noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson and ...

, in late 1971. However, his own records weren't selling, and a fourth (apparently planned as his third) and final album for Reprise - ''Southern Child'' - was dropped from release. The tracks to all of Richard's Reprise sessions, including the ''Southern Child'' album, were finally released on CD in 2005 by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

. ''Second Coming'' was recorded in 1972, at the Record Plant, in Los Angeles, California, and employed top 1950s and 1970s players. Whereas the previous Reprise album, ''King of Rock and Roll'' was considered to be under-produced and too commercial, the third released album was considered vastly over-produced, yet featuring little of the star himself. To wit, the 7 minute, one-chord instrumental, "Satisfied, Sanctified, Toe-Tapper", was a standout. Richard recalled: "I left Reprise because I felt that the producers didn't have me at heart. ''The Rill Thing'' was a good album. All the Reprise albums were, but they didn't push them. So I left them. It wasn't mutual. I went to Reprise because I felt the company could do something. ..I think the producers and people who worked there thought I wasn't their main singer."White, Charles. (2003). ''The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography.'' Omnibus Press. (page 167).

Track listing

All tracks composed by Richard Penniman; except where indicated # "Mockingbird Sally" – 3:41 # "Second Line" (Penniman,

) – 4:50 # "It Ain't What You Do, It's the Way How You Do It" (Penniman, Pete Kleinman) – 2:45 # "The Saints" – 5:03 # "Nuki Suki" (Bill Hemmons) – 5:32 # "Rockin' Rockin' Boogie" (Penniman, Seabrun Hunter) – 5:28 # "Prophet of Peace" – 3:19 # "Thomasine" (Penniman, Maybelle Jackson) – 3:11 # "Sanctified, Satisfied Toe-Tapper" – 7:12

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, electric piano, Clavichord * Lee Allen, Bill Hemmons –

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 ...

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for ...

–

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

Chuck Rainey Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,00 ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Sneaky Pete Kleinow Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow (August 20, 1934 – January 6, 2007) was an American country-rock musician and animator. He was a member of the band the Flying Burrito Brothers, and worked extensively as a session musician, playing pedal stee ...

–

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

* Mike Deasey, George Davis, Adolph Jacobs, David T. Walker –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of al ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

;Technical *

Ed Thrasher Edward Lee Thrasher Jr. (March 7, 1932 – August 5, 2006), known as Ed Thrasher, was an American art director and photographer. He was the recipient of a number of Grammy Award nominations for his work on album covers and won a Grammy for Best Al ...

– art direction * David Willardson – cover artwork *

Ed Caraeff Ed Caraeff (born April 18, 1950) is an American photographer, illustrator and graphic designer who has worked largely in the music industry. He has art directed, photographed and designed more than 400 record album covers from 1967 to 1981 for ...

– photography

Charts

Album Single

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Coming 1972 albums Little Richard albums Albums produced by Robert Blackwell Reprise Records albums