Song Details
- Artist
- Little Richard
- Album
- Here's Little Richard
- Released
- 1955
- Genre
- Rock & Roll
- Length
- 2:23
¶ Deep Analysis
"A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-lop-bam-boom!" With those nonsense syllables, Little Richard kicked off the rock and roll era with more ferocity than anyone before him. "Tutti-Frutti" is a blast of pure energy, fueled by Richard's pounding piano and maniacal screams.
Cleaning Up the Lyrics
The original lyrics were famously obscene ("Tutti Frutti, good booty..."). Songwriter Dorothy Laost was brought in to clean them up, changing the suggestive lines to "Tutti Frutti, aw rooty," but Richard's delivery kept all the original suggestive power intact.
It was a pivotal moment in music history—the sound of the Black church, boogie-woogie piano, and R&B colliding to create something louder, faster, and more dangerous than anything heard on the radio before.
@ History & Impact
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1
Pat Boone Cover
In a classic example of industry racism, a sanitized cover version by Pat Boone outsold Little Richard's original on the pop charts, motivating Richard to write later songs (like "Long Tall Sally") so fast that Boone couldn't sing them.
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2
Architect of Rock
Little Richard called himself the "Architect of Rock and Roll," and this song is the cornerstone. It influenced The Beatles, Elvis, and virtually every rocker who followed.