The Upsetters - The World Famous Upsetters (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.22)

 

The Upsetters were one of the hottest bands in R&B and rock'n'roll history and King Richard Penniman's touring outfit during the Specialty years, yet they were sorely undervalued and poorly chronicled. They backed Little Richard on some of his greatest and wildest sides and were also featured on Don Covay's debut Atlantic single, 'Big Bop Bip', in 1958 or Dee Clarke's 'Oh Little Girl'. The King and Queen of rock'n'roll served as the uncredited lead vocalist on some of the Upsetters' Little Star singles in the early '60s in one of his many moments of finding God and then losing him again. The band's line-up at periods included the powerful saxophonist Grady Gaines, who was also featured as a leader on some releases. The nuclear powered Ricardito's recordings exuded nightly in the mid-50s must have rubbed off on Grady Gaines. Mind you that Little Richard had a big argument with the owner of Specialty Records, Art Rupe because he wanted to record more songs with The Upsetters who favored over the studio session players.

The early Upsetters sessions reveal a band with a raw sound, lacking in studio polish, but with volcanic rhythmic creativity. Upsetters drummer Charles Connor is credited by James Brown with facilitating the rhythmic transition from '50s rock 'n' roll to '60s funk. Anyway, during this period, they were considered by many to be the greatest touring rock'n'roll band on the planet! Connor claimed in a Ponderosa Stomp piece that 'Keep a Knockin' was the first four-bar drum intro on a rock'n'roll record:

“Richard was saying, ‘I want the guitar to play the four-bar intro.’  So the guitar player, he tried it.  Then Richard tried it.  He said, ‘I don’t like that.’  Then he let the saxophone play the four-bar intro.  I said, ‘Wait a minute, Richard.  Let me do something.  Let me do a four-bar intro because this has never been played on a rock and roll record!’  It had never been played on a rock and roll record.  So I came up with a ‘tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat’ . Richard gave me a thousand dollars for that idea, and that was a lot of money in those days.”

The Upsetters remained intact long after Richard left in 1957 to become a minister and they toured or recorded (or both) with Little Willie John, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Joe Tex and Larry Birdsong. Band's saxophonist Wilbert Smith became the vocalist and performed under the name Lee Diamond on their own releases. He was from New Orleans (Upsetters were coming from Macon GA as Little Richard of course). Smith was in the horn section for James Brown and the Famous Flames' 1956 breakout hit, 'Please Please Please'. Further sessions and releases followed at Vee-Jay and Fire in the next years. 

As you might have guessed from the above, the Upsetters cut many excellent records independently, as well as backing some of the greatest R&B singers of the era. This homegrown compilation showcases the best (I believe) of the Upsetters' releases under their own name, as well as their backing work. I tried to delve deeper into their history than their heyday in the '50s and early '60s. Some of their instrumentals are pure gritty and sleazy strip-tease stuff, while other are hyperspeed and primitive rock'n'rollers or soul funky dancers and it's a damn shame they're only known to R&B and rock 'n' roll diehards. I left out the Specialty Little Richard stuff because, well, it's already very well documented (don't worry, the King is still here, lending his fingers to the piano and his voice to the Little Star singles). I tried to compile almost all of their singles and songs, and I only included a handful of recordings that served as the backing unit. If I had a copy of a recording made from vinyl rather than a digital format, I obviously preferred the former for the collection you will hear. Who doesn't love those crackles, anyway? 

Little Richard – The Scream by Darius James (Vibe Magazine, June/July 1997)

 

 

(Right click and select 'open link in new tab' for full scans resolution)

Little Richard - Brunswick Lost Soul (WTS Soul No.3)

For some strange reason Little Richard's recordings on Brunswick have never been officially reissued, apart from a few scattered tracks on compilations here and there (some of them also bootlegs). As he said in his autobiography, Larry Williams was trying to make him a Motown artist during his stint on Okeh and for sure he wasn't one. Don't know what made him think like that, perhaps the lacking of success but Ricardito was as fabulous recording rock'n'soul as playing rock'n'roll! 

Despite his supposedly disdain for the horn-powered soul sound of his Okeh years, Little Richard displayed no aversion to brass immediately after signed out with Larry Williams. So in September 1967 he signed a one year deal with Brunswick Records. The three singles he recorded over the next twelve months doubled his commitment to the funky soul sound with horn sections that came into their own on hot numbers like "Soul Train", "Baby Don't You Tear My Clothes" or the Esquerita co-penned "Stingy Jenny". 

Unfortunately none of the amazing Brunswick singles cracked the charts and once again Mr. Penniman found himself in search of another label and chapter (with the Reprise era rejuvenation waiting around the corner). So, enter White Trash Soul to the picture to correct the mistake until someone, somewhere with a good taste decide to touch his hands to the previously mentioned material and finally make an official reissue. 

Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020). He was black, gay-drag, extremely flamboyant and he played raw assed rock'n'roll in the heart of the 50s US south. If that's not PUNK, then what tha fuck is it?! Without whom...

 

Little Richard and Buster Poindexter (David Johansen) to present Grammy for the Best New Artist... (1988)

 

See the full Video 

Little Richard - "The Rill Thing" (CD Reissue, Collector's Choice Music - 2009)

Don't know why took so long to the public to figure out how cool were many Blues and R&B legends in their late 60s/early 70s comeback LPs, but I guess never too late. I was obsessed with it! The first bunch that I lay my dirty hands upon were Muddy Waters' "Electric Mud", "London Sessions" and the Johnny Winter (RIP) produced "Hard Again", about twelve years back. From then it was a non stop downhill, he-he! So, as you might guessing I'm on the other side of the river. I totally disagree with the purists or the artists themselves (like in Howlin' Wolf's 1969 Cadet "Album", for instance...). I mean, why Elvis "68 Comeback" regarded as brilliant (which is) and not Bo Diddley's "Black Gladiator" or Little Richard's "Rill Thing"? Cause both originators have tried to update their sound and for me at least, they succeeded. So, where Big Bad Bo got psychedelic funky, the Georgia Peach got swamp rock! Although Reprise (RS-6406, 1970) tried to push it as a comeback album, Little Richard was in fact 'back' many years before, cutting brilliant (though sadly unsuccessful) rhythm & soul sides for labels like O-Keh, Vee-Jay, Modern and Brunswick. "The Rill Thing" was a loan King Little Richard gave to his tribe, especially on Creedence Clearwater Revival and it was time to get the requite for this. Recorded and produced by him at (the now legendary) Muscle Shoals in Alabama, the sounds captured on tape found the real king of rock & roll in heat. His voice was mighty loud as it was on his Specialty hits and the music was greasy, swampy and funky soulful! “Dew Drop Inn” and the album's (now multi-sampled) opener “Freedom Blues” were written by Richard and long time friend, old lover and influence Esquerita (on credits shown as Esgrita!) if that says something (it does!)... The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" funkified surprisingly enough by the man who gave inspiration to Lennon and McCartney partnership and although at first crabs, after two or three listens fits perfectly to the other album's tunes.

Don't know why really, this one still brings mixed emotions. I'm finding it as a truly exceptional and equal creation to this man's legacy! An album for sure drug fueled by cocaine and guilty pleasures but as well, an album of its time and place. Try play it betwixt and between "Sticky Fingers" and "Bayou Country" and you will understand what I'm saying...

Rolling Stone No.59 / May 28 ,1970 - taken from Arouse Your Passion blog

Little Richard - Get Rich Quick! The Birth Of A Legend 1951-1954 (Rev-Ola 2005)

I was checking a few days ago at some net-mailorders and found a recently released long play with material that King Little Richard cut before the Specialty wisecats found him and got him on a studio (the record just came out by Jerome Records under the title 'The Implosive Little Richard - The Pre-Specialty Sessions 1951-1953'). So yes, the wop-bop-a-lou-bop master and if you don't know it already, began and recorded a bunch of tunes before his Specialty peak.
RCA & Peacock labels were the first pit stops for the real king of Rock N Roll. Officialy were recorded 16 tunes. The first thing one can see clearly here, is that Little Richard before Esquerita was a good R&B artist although just another one. What this blogger heard in this terrific compilation by Rev-Ola (a very hard to find CD with all known to this day recorded material from that era), it's the sonic evidence that Norton's mascot had a HUGE influence on him. The vibrato almost operatic voice and falsetto, the pounding, frantic and outta control 88s were all Esquerita's patent! He acknowledged this on some interviews even if he told the half truth (namely only the piano style was SQ's)...Also huge influence on Richard at this period of time was Billy Wright! A great flamboyant artist whose unique performances and "glam" dressing stylings made big interest on both Richard and Esquerita.
Anyway, the bands on these sides were Johnny Otis' and the Deuces of Rhythm along with the Tempo Toppers. Of course none of the two can match the Upsetters (the best rock n roll outfit EVER - better known to most of the world as the backing band of King Richard), but were arguably excellent rhythm & blues cats (especially Johnny Otis band...). What documented on this rare as heck CD are obviously the Peacock/RCA years plus some never released before alternate takes (six) plus three tunes by Christine Kittrell with Richard accompanied her on piano. To my opinion all these recordings are historically "must hears" for every LR fanatic, but if you're a beginner you must buy in every cost the Specialty material  which is what wrote history and created rock n roll!
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Get Rich Quick!

Little Richard - The Hottest Beat In Town (Bootleg LP - Demand 0035)

This Bootleg LP is one of the coolest ever in rock n roll history! Recorded of course LIVE at the "Mad Russian" 9 & 11 October 1968 - Boston Massachusetts. The first time i confronted this overwhelming blast, was at a Norton Records' printed mail order catalog! I always trusted Billy's & Miriam's taste! You see, when you read something like this "Torrid 1968 live whammy loaded to the tits! We once had the pleasure of blastin' this LP at Esquerita's pad and SQ gave it his personal okey doke!" you can do no wrong,huh? Late 60s was a tough period for almost all rock n roll icons of the first era. The British Invasion and the starting of the (yaaaack!) "hippie-pseudo-psychedelic-folk-prog whatever" made they're existence more and more difficult. Little Richard especially tried his best with Soul music (in my opinion with excellent results - check for the Okeh recordings, almost all tracks produced and arranged by Larry Williams and Johnny Watson!), found and lost his God (he did it several times in the future) and was at this moment a step before his second coming! Of course I'm talking about the three albums that cut with Reprise. Anyway, as you can hear in this file, never lost though his flamboyant persona and the sweating result on this bootleg, made this record by far his best live recording!

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