John Lennon’s favourite songs by Little Richard
Alongside his trusty bandmates, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, The Beatles’ most daring songwriter, John Lennon, changed the face of popular music almost single-handedly in the 1960s and ‘70s.
The early Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership put the swing into the ’60s, injecting much-needed colour and energy into a drizzly post-war climate. While their early efforts may have been eclipsed by later, more experimental and seminal releases, The Beatles’ first five albums served as a vital bridge between their musical influences of the 1950s and the exciting path ahead.
After McCartney joined Lennon in his formative school band, The Quarrymen, the pair banded on a shared passion for early American rock ‘n’ roll by luminaries such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley.
In the book The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography, Lennon reflected on the overriding influence of Presley and Little Richard. “Elvis was bigger than religion in my life,” Lennon expressed. “Then this boy at school said he’d got this record by somebody called Little Richard who was better than Elvis — we used to go to this boy’s house after school and listen to Elvis on 78s: we’d buy five ciggies loose and some chips and go along.”
Lennon recalled being blown away when he first listened to Richard’s energetic verse. The 1956 single ‘Long Tall Sally’ was his first experience with the American star. “The new record was Little Richard’s ‘Long Tall Sally’,” he recalled. “When I heard it, it was so great I couldn’t speak.”
So enamoured was Lennon with Richard that he questioned his allegiance to Presley. “You know how you are torn,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave Elvis, but this was so much better. We all looked at each other, but I didn’t want to say anything against Elvis, even in my mind. How could they both be happening in my life?”
After The Quarrymen morphed into The Beatles with George Harrison and Ringo Starr on board, Little Richard covers remained a staple presence of early gigs. The band even committed several covers to vinyl. Most memorably, ‘Long Tall Sally’ featured as the centrepiece of the Beatles’ Long Tall Sally EP in 1964 and ‘Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!’ appeared in a medley alongside a cover of ‘Kansas City’ on Beatles for Sale.
In 1975, five years after The Beatles’ split, Lennon included a cover of ‘Slippin’ and Slidin” on his sixth solo studio album, Rock ‘n’ Roll. Below, we have created a playlist of Lennon’s favourite Little Richard songs alongside their respective Lennon-led covers.
John Lennon’s favourite Little Richard songs:
- ‘Long Tall Sally’
- ‘Slippin’ and Slidin”
- ‘Ooh! My Soul’
- ‘Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!’
- ‘Lucille’
