Greatest Hits
Specialty SPCD 7074-2
Little Richard: Long Tall Sally/ Good Golly Miss Molly/ Lucille/Tutti Frutti/ Rip It Up// Roy Milton: Thrill Me/ Information Blues/ R.M. Blues/ Best Wishes//Lloyd Price: Lawdy Miss Clawdy/ Ain't It A Shame?/ Oooh-Oooh-Oooh//Percy Mayfield: Please Send Me Someone to Love/ Lost Love (Baby,Please)// Larry Williams: Bony Moronie/ Short Fat Fannie//Joe Liggins: Pink Champagne// Jimmy Liggins: Drunk// Sam Cooke: I'll Come Running Back to You// Jesse & Marvin: Dream Girl
Ten of the most important and influential post-war artists recorded these twenty classic rollicking and mellow mix of songs which were some of the greatest music of the immediate pre-rock and early rock eras. All the songs, except those sung by Little Richard, were written by the artists themselves, and all placed in the top five of the Billboard charts. Eight of the hits were number one on the charts. This independent record label, founded by Art Rupe, was named Specialty after the specialty markets, blues, jump, and gospel, which he catered to. In the decade and a half, from 1945 to 1959, the label had a giant impact in the fields of rock 'n' roll, R&B, and gospel.
Three artists perform twelve of the songs. Little Richard, the flamboyant piano pounder and singer, plays five high-energy rock'n'roll tunes, including the well-known "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally." Drummer and vocalist, Roy Milton, does three of his own songs, including the number two hits, " R.M. Blues," and "Information Blues," which are more supper club, mellow songs. He had more chart successes, with his 19 Top Ten records, than any of the other artists on this label. He is joined by boogie-woogie stylist, Camile Howard, who plays piano on all his tracks, plus sings in her song, "Thrill Me." Vocalist, Lloyd Price, has a deeper, lower-key sound, and puts out emotional energy in "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," plus his other two other tunes.
Even though they don't have as many songs on this CD, many of the remaining seven are also legends. One of the greatest blues songwriters was vocalist, Percy Mayfield, who does his classic for world peace, "Please Send Me Someone to Love," and another song. Who could have predicted Sam Cook's success when he recorded "I'll Come Running Back To You," on this album. The brothers, vocalist and guitarist, Jimmy, and vocalist, pianest, Joe Liggins, each are represented by one song one the CD. Jimmy's song, "Drunk" was closer to the coming rock 'n' roll that any R&B artist of his time. Joe's "Pink Champagne," also on this album, was the top R&B record of the year. After Little Richard turned more religious, Rupe replaced him with vocalist, pianist, Larry Williams, who was also a wild performer. He does two songs on the album, including his number one hit, "Short Fat Fannie." Jesse and Marvin's doo-wop song, "Dream Girl," broke ground and brought the concept of Cool to teenage boys. Jesse was the great Jesse Belvin, a highly respected Los Angeles singer.
So there you have it - an excellent star-studded album filled with great hits, including recognisable classics. Plus there are detailed liner notes, with photos of some of the artists. This CD is definitely a collector's item, with a lot of exciting songs performed by some of the music legends of this era. You could enjoy having this memorable collection in your music library!
By Maria Bainer © May, 2001
