Little Richard – Keep A-Knocking

Every time I post Little Richard, I think of my dad. I never heard my dad gush over a music performer besides three artists. Elvis Presley, George Jones, and Little Richard. I think Richard was his favorite voice. He would tell me, no one, absolutely no one, sounded like Little Richard. My dad was born in 1938, so he was the perfect age (17) in 1955 to enjoy the rock and roll boom that was going on.

I only knew Richard from his manic songs, but Graham talked about him singing some ballads, so I checked them out. The man could sing a great ballad as well, but I’m not posting a ballad today. I had Little Richard’s greatest hits as a youngster, after all of the buildup from my dad. Since I got into the Beatles so early, I knew enough to know Paul was emulating Little Richard with Long Tall Sally. He did a great job, but nothing beats the man himself. 

From the opening crash of Charles Connor’s drums, a bolt of energy that feels like it might knock your turntable off its spindle. Richard isn’t asking anyone in; he’s telling the world to keep knocking because the party inside is already out of control. It’s controlled chaos, and I love it. I also love Samuel Parker’s breakout sax solo in the middle. 

The heartbeat of this song came from drummer Charles Connor, whose opening drum break is one of the most famous in rock history. Connor later said he borrowed the feel from a New Orleans parade rhythm and stripped it down. Connor has spoken about how Little Richard wanted the drums to sound like chaos barely held together, loud and urgent. That intro became so iconic that it later inspired John Bonham’s opening on Led Zeppelin’s Rock and Roll, but the original blueprint belongs to Charles Connor.

Listening to this song is like taking speed for 2 minutes. The lyrics are almost childishly simple, but the delivery makes them monumental. If you want to explain why Little Richard matters, just listen to this song and stand back. This is the sound of the door being slammed on the old world and kicked open into something louder and faster. No polish or no restraint.

The song was released in 1957, and it was credited to Little Richard but he wrote it based on a blues song by James “Boodle It” Wiggins in 1928 called Keep a-Knocking An You Can’t Come In. The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard 100, #2 on the Billboard R&B Charts, and #21 in the UK in 1957. 

Keep A-Knocking

Keep a knockin’, but you can’t come inKeep a knockin’, but you can’t come inKeep a knockin’, but you can’t come inCome back tomorrow night and try it again

You said you love me and you can’t come inYou said you love me and you can’t come in (woo!)You said you love me and you can’t come inCome back tomorrow night and try it again (woo!)

Keep a knockin’, but you can’t come inKeep a knockin’, but you can’t come inKeep a knockin’, but you can’t come inCome back tomorrow night and try it again

You said you love me and you can’t come inYou said you love me and you can’t come in (woo!)You said you love me and you can’t come inCome back tomorrow night and try it again (woo!)

Keep a knockin’, but you can’t come inKeep a knockin’, but you can’t come in (woo!)Keep a knockin’, but you can’t come inCome back tomorrow night and try it again

You said you love me and you can’t come inYou said you love me and you can’t come inYou said you love me and you can’t come inCome back tomorrow night and try it again (woo!)

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

22 thoughts on “Little Richard – Keep A-Knocking”

  2. Pingback: Little Richard – Keep A-Knocking – MobsterTiger

  4. The image of the Specialty Records label spinning at 78rpm fueled my childhood. “Long Tall Sally” suddenly came to me one day this summer on a walk with my 6 month old granddaughter. I played it as soon as we got in the house and she immediately started dancing in her carseat and singing along. Little Richard has power! And you’re right – the party is already out of control!

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  5. I think the couples dancing in that video are on speed too. Whew. My mother had a different reaction than your father did. Even though she liked a lot of rock and pop music, Richard was one step too far for her. Every time he would be on TV screaming “Lucille!”, I would be fascinated, but she was not, to put it lightly. I can’t even imagine what my father would have thought of him. He would sometimes have a Saturday off, and my sister and I would be watching Soul Train, and he would always say “All they ever say is baby, baby, baby”. In their defense, I had older parents than most of my friends. My mother was 42 and my father 44 when I was born. Well there was and will only be one Little Richard. Sorry for going on again. Good post.

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    1. I could see why older people would not exactly approve of Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis…by just looking at them perform they probably saw them as a threat. Of course the teens ate it up.
      You know…your dad WAS right about baby, baby, baby lol…but it was the way they did it that made it work! Talk as long as you want!

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      1. Every time I play the live version of “Cyprus Avenue” on Van’s It’s Too Late to stop now and he says “Baby” about 25 times in a row I think of my father.

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  7. Simple, loud, all but unhinged- what kid from the dull grey post-war days when ‘life was a serious business’ wouldn’t want to dance their blues away to something as gleefully free and joyful as this?

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  9. I wasn’t that familiar with this one. It’s brilliant, the way it’s mixed makes it sound like a runaway train barelling straight at you. The lyrics are stupidly simple, but that’s the point. Imagine how this sounded to a kid in the fifties. Wooooo!

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