Energy. Emotion. Showmanship. A driving groove. A catchy lyric. These are the universal ingredients of rock n’ roll music, and Little Richard essentially wrote the recipe in 1955 with his song “Tutti Frutti.” Richard Wayne Penniman of Macon, Georgia, had tapped into an undiscovered current of sonic electricity, and his early recordings present rock in its purest form, before it was co-opted and strangled by a hollow pretender called Elvis Presley.

The brand new compilation Get Down With It: The Okeh Sessions captures Richard at a turbulent time in his career: the mid-1960s. After retiring at the height of his popularity to become a preacher, he attempted a secular comeback, and it was an uphill battle. While out of the public eye, the British Invasion usurped Richard’s fans, but the artist didn’t mess with his formula, evidenced by the foot-stomping, adrenaline-pumping joy of the opening track, “I Don’t Want To Discuss It.” The performance is a jarring reminder of Richard’s immeasurable influence, his enduring strength and bottomless resources of energy. No career setback could dampen his vivid musical spirit.

Get Down With It is full of undeniable examples of Richard’s innate talents as a showman and performer – songs that have been beaten into the ground by oldies radio, film soundtracks and shameless TV commercials. In this artist’s hands, “Hound Dog,” “Land Of A Thousand Dances” and “Money” are completely revitalized. The chords are the same and the words are pretty much identical, but the performances are downright explosive. He obviously hadn’t lost any of his creative spark, as each and every song bursts with exuberance; each chorus is a celebration of rock music’s energy and spontaneity.

Elvis became “The King” by taking black music and depriving it of its soul and spirit, and he can have the name with its modern connotation – a figurehead with no real power. Little Richard is true rock n’ roll royalty, a leader with real sway over his audiences. Get Down With It is an incredibly entertaining tribute to his reign, spilling over with talent, vivacity and resilience.

Rock music has splintered into many directions since Richard’s heyday, with innovators and experimentalists pushing the music into new stratospheres. For all the amazing paths that rock has taken, there’s still nothing quite like the raw artistic power of Little Richard, pounding on his helpless piano and screaming towards the heavens in the heat of the moment, with that young, glorious rock n’ roll sound pumping its gears behind him like a synchronized locomotive.

Appeared in Issue Eight of Traffic East.

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