Little Richard (album)

Little Richard (titled Volume 2 in the UK) is the second album^[2] by American musician Little Richard, released by July 1958, ten months after Richard announced a retirement from rock and roll to pursue a life in the ministry. Like his first album, it largely contains previously released A-sides and B-sides including several which reached Billboard's Rhythm & Blues and Hot 100 charts.^[3] Nine of its twelve tracks charted in the US including Richard's fourth million-seller "Lucille", the rock and roll standard "Good Golly, Miss Molly" and "The Girl Can't Help It", the title song from the motion picture of the same name. Among the previously unreleased tracks are two Tin Pan Alley songs recorded in Richard's frantic style.

Little Richard
Studio album by Little Richard
Released	July 1958 (1958-07)[1]
Recorded	November 29, 1955 – October 18, 1957
Genre	Rock and roll rhythm and blues
Length	26:48
Label	Specialty
Producer	Bumps Blackwell
Little Richard chronology
Here's Little Richard (1957) Little Richard (1958) The Fabulous Little Richard (1958)
Singles from Little Richard
"Heeby-Jeebies" Released: Oct. 1956 "The Girl Can't Help It/All Around the World" Released: Dec. 1956 "Lucille/Send Me Some Lovin'" Released: Feb. 1957 "Keep A-Knockin'" Released: Aug. 1957 "Good Golly, Miss Molly" Released: Jan. 1958 "Ooh! My Soul" Released: May 1958 "Baby Face" Released: July 1958 "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" Released: March 1959

Critical reviews

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
Sputnikmusic	[7]

Reviewing Little Richard upon its release, Billboard praised the album as "a worthy successor to Here's Little Richard", commenting "the cat is at his frantic best"^[8] Cash Box described the album as "in typical explosive Richard style".^[9]

Among retrospective reviews, AllMusic's Mark Deming considered Little Richard "every bit as rockin' as his first album, if not more so... there isn't a single throwaway among the 12 tunes on deck".^[4]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Keep A Knockin'" (Richard Penniman)
2. "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" (Gus Edwards, Edward Madden)
3. "Send Me Some Lovin'" (John Marascalco, Leo Price)
4. "I'll Never Let You Go (Boo Hoo Hoo Hoo)" (Penniman)
5. "Heeby-Jeebies" (Maybelle Jackson, Marascalco)
6. "All Around the World" (Robert Blackwell, McKinley Millet)

Side two

1. "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (Blackwell, Marascalco)
2. "Baby Face" (Harry Akst, Benny Davis)
3. "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey" (Penniman)
4. "Ooh! My Soul" (Penniman)
5. "The Girl Can't Help It" (Bobby Troup)
6. "Lucille" (Al Collins, Penniman)

Charts

Weekly

Year	Chart	Position
1958	Billboard Pop Albums	76

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1956	"Heeby-Jeebies"	Billboard Black Singles	7
1956	"The Girl Can't Help It"	Billboard Black Singles	7
1956	"The Girl Can't Help It"	Billboard Pop Singles	49
1956	"All Around the World"	Billboard Black Singles	13
1957	"Lucille"	Billboard Black Singles	1
1957	"Lucille"	Billboard Pop Singles	21
1957	"Send Me Some Lovin'"	Billboard Black Singles	3
1957	"Send Me Some Lovin'"	Billboard Pop Singles	54
1957	"Keep A-Knockin'"	Billboard Black Singles	2
1957	"Keep A-Knockin'"	Billboard Pop Singles	8
1958	"Good Golly, Miss Molly"	Billboard Black Singles	4
1958	"Good Golly, Miss Molly"	Billboard Pop Singles	10
1958	"Ooh! My Soul"	Billboard Black Singles	15
1958	"Ooh! My Soul"	Billboard Pop Singles	35
1958	"Baby Face"	Billboard Black Singles	21
1958	"Baby Face"	Billboard Pop Singles	41

References

1. "New Releases" (PDF). Billboard Audition. March 1958. p. 8. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
2. Little Richard (liner). Little Richard. Specialty. 1958.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. Whitburn, Joel (1988). "Little Richard". Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 260. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
4. Deming, Mark. "Little Richard – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
5. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
6. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 428.
7. "Little Richard – Review". Sputnikmusic. December 8, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
8. "Rhythm & Blues Albums" (PDF). 28 July 1957: 20. Retrieved 18 November 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
9. "Little Richard" (PDF). Cash Box: 40. 26 July 1958. Retrieved 19 November 2021.