Tutti Frutti (song)

For other uses, see Tutti Frutti (disambiguation).
"Tutti Frutti"
Single by Little Richard
from the album Here's Little Richard
B-side"I'm Just a Lonely Guy"
ReleasedOctober 1955[1]
RecordedSeptember 14, 1955
StudioJ&M (New Orleans, Louisiana)[1]
GenreRock and roll
Length2:23
LabelSpecialty
Songwriter(s)Dorothy LaBostrie, Little Richard
Producer(s)Robert Blackwell
Little Richard singles chronology
"Always"
(1954) 		"Tutti Frutti"
(1955) 		"Long Tall Sally"
(1956)

"Tutti Frutti" (Italian for "all fruits") is a song written by Little Richard and Dorothy LaBostrie, recorded in 1955, which was his first major hit. With its energetic refrain, often transcribed as "A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-lop-bam-boom!" (a verbal rendition of a drum pattern that Little Richard had imagined),[2] and its hard-driving sound and wild lyrics, it became not only a model for many future Little Richard songs, but also for rock and roll itself.[3] The song introduced several of rock music's most characteristic musical features, including its loud volume, powerful vocal style, and distinctive beat and rhythm.[4]

In 2007, an eclectic panel of renowned recording artists ranked "Tutti Frutti" at No. 1 on Mojo's "The Top 100 Records That Changed The World" and hailed the recording as "the sound of the birth of rock and roll". In 2009, the U.S. Library of Congress National Recording Registry added the recording to its registry, claiming the "unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music".[5][6] In April 2012, Rolling Stone magazine declared the refrain "the most inspired rock lyric ever recorded".[7] It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.[8]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference DawsonPropes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ White, Charles (2003), pp. 49–51 The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography. Omnibus Press.
  3. ^ "The Current from". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference campbell115 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The Full National Recording Registry: National Recording Preservation Board (Library of Congress)". National Recording Preservation Board. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  6. ^ O'Donnell, Bernard (June 23, 2010). "'Tutti Frutti' Joins National Music Registry". Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  7. ^ Stone, Rolling (May 31, 2009). "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 24, 2012.
  8. ^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com.