Record #0120: Baby Face / I’ll Never Let You Go (Boo Hoo Hoo Hoo) – LITTLE RICHARD

Specialty 645 (original) USA, Sep. 1958
Words & Music by:  Side A – Benny Davis, Harry Akst; Side B – Richard Penniman
Musicians:  Little Richard Penniman (vocals and piano); Side A: Lee Allen (tenor sax), Alvin “Red” Tyler (baritone sax), Roy Montrell (guitar), Frank Fields (bass), Earl Palmer (drums); Side B: Nathaniel Douglas (guitar), Olsie Robinson (bass), Charles Connor (drums), Grady Gaines (tenor sax), Wilbert Smith (tenor sax), Clifford Burks (tenor sax)
Recording sessions:   Side A – Produced by Art Rupe at J&M Studio, New Orleans, LA, Oct. 16, 1956; Side B – Produced by Art Rupe at Master Recorders, Hollywood, CA, Oct. 18, 1957
Highest chart positions:  US #41, US R&B #12, UK #2

When Little Richard “saw the light”, switched to gospel and took a 5-year-break from rock music in 1957, Specialty was lucky to have plenty of unreleased material from him at the time. They had enough of it for albums “Little Richard” (1958) and “The Fabulous Little Richard” (1959) and released many of the album songs and some unreleased songs as singles for few years. The last of the “old” Specialty singles to chart was “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” (UK #17) which was recorded in the same session with “Baby Face” and released in March 1959.

Side B was done in Little Richard’s last rock’n’roll recording session of the 50’s.

Richard found new fame when he was “re-discovered” in the early stages of the British Invasion, during a successful tour with Bo Diddley, the Everly Brothers and the Rolling Stones in England in late 1963. In August 1964 he released the album “Little Richard Is Back”. Some of the album tracks featured a guitar player who called himself Maurice James at the time. James had joined Richard’s band in March 1964.

List price:  Very Good+  $12.50, Near Mint  $25