“A Blessin’ and a Lesson”: The Story Behind “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard

Little Richard was a walking contradiction. Because of his religious upbringing, he couldn’t fully embrace rock ‘n’ roll, yet he gave us some of the most exciting recordings the world has ever heard. The third of 12 children from Macon, Georgia, Richard Penniman was the son of a church deacon who sold bootlegged moonshine and owned a nightclub. As a child, Richard began singing and playing the piano. He discovered the power of gospel music and wanted to grow up to be a preacher. In 1947, Sister Rosetta Tharpe discovered the young singer and offered him an opening slot on her show at the Macon (Georgia) City Auditorium, inspiring him to become a professional entertainer.

After learning the saxophone in high school, Richard switched to the piano to allow for his powerful singing voice. In 1949, he began performing in drag as Princess LaVonne and left home to join a traveling medicine show. The following year, Penniman joined Buster Brown’s Orchestra, which gave him the name Little Richard. He made records for RCA Victor and Peacock with some regional success, but it wasn’t until he teamed up with Specialty Records in New Orleans that he experienced his biggest triumph. Let’s take a look at the story behind “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard.

Wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
A wop bop a loo bop a lop ba ba
I got a gal named Sue. She knows just what to do
I got a gal named Sue. She knows just what to do
She rocks to the East, she rocks to the West
But she’s the gal that I love best

It Started in the Kitchen

The song “Tutti Frutti” was born out of frustration. When Little Richard was younger, he would bang on the pots and pans and annoy the neighbors. Years later, he was washing dishes at a Greyhound bus station when he became irritated by his boss. In 1990, Little Richard told Rolling Stone magazine, “I couldn’t talk back to my boss man. He would bring all these pots back for me to wash, and one day I said, ‘I’ve got to do something to stop this man bringing back all these pots to me to wash,’ and I said, ‘Awap bop a lup bop a wop bam boom, take ’em out!’ and that’s what I meant at the time. And so I wrote ‘Tutti Frutti’ in the kitchen.”

Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie, ooh
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
A wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom

“A Blessin’ and a Lesson”

In 1999, Little Richard told Mojo magazine, “My greatest achievement would have to be ‘Tutti Frutti.’ It took me out of the kitchen—I was a dishwasher at the Greyhound bus station, making $10 a week working 12 hours a day, and ‘Tutti Frutti’ was a blessin’ and a lesson. I thank God for ‘Tutti Frutti.’”

I got a gal named Daisy. She almost drives me crazy
Got a gal named Daisy. She almost drives me crazy
She knows how to love me, yes indeed
Boy, you don’t know what she do to me

Good Booty

The original lyrics were more suggestive. Tutti frutti / good booty / If it’s tight, it’s alright / If it’s greasy, it makes it easy. Lyricist Dorothy LaBostrie helped to punch up the words, bringing the song to a place where it could be safe for broadcast. The breakout single on Specialty Records hit No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart, followed by “Long Tall Sally,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” “Rip It Up,” and “Ready Teddy.”

Tutti frutti, oh rootien
Tutti frutti, oh rootie, ooh
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Wop bop a loo bop, ow

White Artists Charted Higher

Pat Boone was coming off the success of covering “Ain’t that a Shame” by Fats Domino when he cut “Tutti Frutti.” Boone took the song to No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, while Little Richard’s version peaked at No. 18. Elvis Presley included the song on his self-titled debut RCA album and included it as the B-side of “Blue Suede Shoes.” In 1984, Little Richard told the Washington Post, “They didn’t want me to be in the white guys’ way. … I felt I was pushed into a rhythm and blues corner to keep out of rockers’ way because that’s where the money is. When “Tutti Frutti” came out … they needed a rock star to block me out of white homes because I was a hero to white kids. The white kids would have Pat Boone upon the dresser and me in the drawer ’cause they liked my version better, but the families didn’t want me because of the image that I was projecting.”

Oh tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie, ooh
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
A wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom

Woo!

Little Richard would scream, “Aaaaaaaahhh,” just before the tenor sax solo to signal to Lee Allen when to start playing. He became known for his “Woo!” that Paul McCartney would go on to emulate as The Beatles covered Little Richard songs. The Liverpool quartet performed “Tutti Frutti” regularly, but they didn’t record it. They did cut “Long Tall Sally” and “Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey!”

I got a gal named Daisy. She almost drives me crazy
Got a gal named Daisy. She almost drives me crazy
She knows how to love me, yes indeed
Boy, you don’t know what she do to me
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie, ooh
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
A wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom

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Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images