Maps of Music

The Rill Thing (1970)

Where the lyrics of The Rill Thing take you, and where it was really made.

Its lead single "Freedom Blues" broke the Billboard top 50, yet the album itself never charted in the United States or United Kingdom.

Key places

Recorded at FAME Studios (1970)

Recording site FAME Studios — The Rill Thing is linked to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama as its recording studio. Travis Wammack, who wrote Greenwood, Mississippi, was met by Richard at the studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Rill Thing: Little Richard's first album for Reprise Records
• Released in August 1970
• Considered a comeback album after three years without new material
• Uses a soul-influenced sound
• Biggest post-Specialty single: "Freedom Blues", which broke the Billboard top 50
• Follow-up single "Greenwood, Mississippi" made the top 100
• The album itself failed to chart

Background

• Three years had passed since Little Richard's last new material in 1970
• Signed with Okeh Records in early 1966 and released two albums there in 1967
• Left Okeh in 1967 after clashing with producer Larry Williams and feeling unsupported by the label
• Signed with Brunswick Records, then left the following year to focus on live performance
• Appeared at the Atlantic City Pop Festival in August 1969, which revived his standing
• His appearance the following month at Toronto Rock and Roll Revival was also well received
• Those successes brought him to talk shows and made him a prominent celebrity again
• Received offers from many labels, including Apple, and chose Reprise to reach both black R&B and white rock audiences
• Was the first major signing negotiated by Mo Ostin as president of Reprise

Recording

• The Rill Thing was Little Richard's first self-produced album
• He invested his own money in the project
• Many songs use twelve-bar blues structures, but the arrangements are shaped by contemporary soul and R&B
• Richard said the bass riffs are more prominent and the guitar sits further forward
• Opens with "Freedom Blues", a song with a message of brotherhood
• Side two opens with the ten-minute instrumental title track, featuring Richard on electric piano
• Covers of "Lovesick Blues" and "I Saw Her Standing There" close the album
• "Greenwood, Mississippi" was written by Travis Wammack, whom Richard met at FAME Studios

Cover

• The cover shot of Little Richard in performance was taken by Ed Caraeff
• Ed Thrasher handled art direction
• The back cover essay calls the album the first accurately dazzling reflection of his talent since his Specialty days
• The record labels bear the slogan "The Little Richard Sound"

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Richard Wayne Penniman (1932–2020), known as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist and songwriter.
• Called the "Architect of Rock and Roll"; his mid-1950s work laid the foundation for rock and roll.
• Hits: "Tutti Frutti" (1955), "Long Tall Sally" (1956, No. 1 on the R&B chart), followed by a rapid run of further hits.
• Retired from rock and roll for evangelism in 1957, returned in 1962 after a European tour with Don Arden.
• The Beatles opened for him on some 1962 tour dates; he taught Paul McCartney his vocal style.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, its first group of inductees.
• "Tutti Frutti" was added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2009.

Influence

• His raspy shouting vocals and boogie-woogie, New Orleans R&B and gospel fusion shaped rock, soul and funk.
• Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and many others cited him as an influence.
• Covered by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Everly Brothers.

Reception

At release

• The album received positive reviews on release
• Billboard called it a stomping, swinging, soulful leap backwards in 1950s rock 'n' roll with the Muscle Shoals gang
• Joel Selvin of Rolling Stone called it a major artistic triumph for Little Richard and praised his vocals and the covers of "Lovesick Blues" and "I Saw Her Standing There"

Reappraisal

• William Ruhlmann of AllMusic called it a convincing update on Richard's earlier work, despite the rambling ten-minute title track
• Doug Sheppard of PopMatters, reviewing the 2009 reissue, found it at least partially successful and criticized the title track
• Kev Boyd of Fatea Magazine was critical of the second side, calling the title track all deep bass and blues harp with little inspiration
• Martin Ruddock wrote in 2020 that the album remains a high point in one hell of a catalogue

Records

• Despite Reprise's promotional efforts and the two charting singles, the album was a commercial failure
• The album failed to chart in either the United States or the United Kingdom
• The album made its CD debut in June 2009 as part of a Collectors' Choice Music reissue campaign of Richard's Reprise albums
• A new CD edition by Omnivore Recordings with four bonus tracks was released on 18 September 2020

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Rill Thing was Little Richard's first self-produced album
• "Dew Drop Inn" borrows the drum beat from Richard's recording of "Keep A-Knockin'" for its intro
• Discogs lists the A6 track as credited to R. Penniman and M. Jackson on the label
• Travis Wammack later released his own recording of "Greenwood, Mississippi" on his 1975 Capricorn Records album Not For Sale
• Richard insisted on recording his vocals over Wammack's demo cassette, to FAME owner Rick Hall's chagrin

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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