Mr. Big (Little Richard album)

Mr. Big
Studio album by Little Richard
Released	1971
Recorded	c. December 1964 - c. 1965
Genre	Soul
Label	Joy (UK)
Little Richard chronology
The Rill Thing (1970) Mr. Big (1971) The King of Rock and Roll (1971)

Mr. Big, released in the middle of his Reprise Records period, was another compilation of Little Richard's mid 1960s recordings for the Vee Jay Records label. Released on the UK Joy label, it is included in the album chronology because none of the tracks had previously been released on an album. A later album with not only the same name, but also the same cover was released for the US market in 1974 with different tracks. (See The Alternate Mr. Big).

History

As covered on the entry for Little Richard Is Back (And There's A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!), Richard recorded nearly fifty tracks for the Vee-Jay Records label in 1964/1965. With the collapse of the record label, some of these tracks went unreleased until the 1970s. Due to the nature of this albums containing effectively 'new' material, it is included in the Little Richard album chronology despite the material being six years old at the date of its release.

The Alternate Mr. Big

Three years after the release of this album, an album for the U.S. market was released using the same name, but with different tracks. The second Mr. Big album utilised the same cover, though is not included in the chronology as it contained nothing previously unreleased. For the record, the track listing on the US Mr. Big was as follows: Send Me Some Lovin'/Hound Dog/Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On/The Girl Can't Help It/Crossover/It Ain't What Ya Do/Everytime I Think About You/Dancin' All Around The World/Going Home Tomorrow/Money Honey/Ooh My Soul.

Track listing

1. "Jenny, Jenny" (Enotris Johnson, Penniman) (1:58)
2. "Without Love (There Is Nothing)" (Danny Small) (3:19)
3. "Cross Over" (Alvin Tyler) (2:40)
4. "My Wheel's Been Slippin' All the Way" (Penniman) (2:26)
5. "It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way How You Do It)" (Anthony Codrington, Penniman) (2:24)
6. "Every Time I Think About You" (Penniman) (2:12)
7. "Talkin' 'Bout Soul" (J.W. Alexander) (2:10)
8. "I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)" (Don Covay) (4:07)
9. "I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)" (Harmony version) (Don Covay) (2.23)
10. "Dance What You Wanna" (J.W. Alexander, Sam Cooke) (2:23)
11. "Dancing All Around the World" (Penniman) (2:57)

Personnel, tracks 1,3-5

• Little Richard – vocals, piano

Rest of personnel unlisted in Vee Jay archives

Personnel, tracks 2,7 and 9

• Little Richard – vocals, piano
• Clyde Johnson - saxophone
• William Green - saxophone
• Buddy Collette - saxophone
• Earl Palmer - drums

Rest of personnel unlisted in Vee Jay archives

Personnel, tracks 6, 8 and 10

• Little Richard – vocals, piano
• Jimi Hendrix - guitar

Rest of personnel unlisted in Vee Jay archives

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1970	Billboard Pop Albums	Did not chart

^[1]

References

1. White, Charles. (2003). The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography. Omnibus Press.