Rip It Up

In Rip It Up the saxophone bursts in like lightning before Little Richard unleashes his voice over a rhythm that seems to accelerate on its own. The song doesn’t ask for permission: it attacks from the first chord and doesn’t let up until the last drumbeat fades away. The track runs in two minutes and twenty seconds, but in that time it packs more ideas than many three-minute songs. The detail that stands out the most is the tenor saxophone solo, performed by Lee Allen, which slips between the verses like an unexpected guest who steals the show without apology. It’s not just decoration: it’s an essential part of the track’s DNA, the sound that makes anyone listening feel the urge to move their feet even if they’re sitting down.

The recording was made at J&M Recording Studio in New Orleans, under the guidance of Cosimo Matassa, a place where rock and roll merged with rhythm and blues forever. The song was released in June 1956 under the Specialty Records label, with Ready Teddy on the B-side, and quickly climbed the charts. It reached number one on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues Records chart and number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, while in the United Kingdom it peaked at number 30. It wasn’t just a success in the U.S.: later versions, such as the one by Bill Haley & His Comets, also topped international charts. Even Elvis Presley recorded it that same year, though his version didn’t have the same chart impact. The track also made a cameo in the 2005 documentary Make It Funky!, where Earl Palmer performs it with Ivan Neville as the guest vocalist, as part of a tribute to the New Orleans music scene.