The Rill Thing
The Rill Thing was Little Richard's comeback album after a three-year hiatus on new albums. Utilizing yet another new sound, the album contained Little Richard's biggest post-Specialty single in "Freedom Blues", which broke the Billboard top 50, and a lesser success with the follow-up single, "Greenwood, Mississippi", which made the top 100; although the tune made number 56 on Cashbox Black Singles. The title track itself was a ten-minute plus instrumental penned by Richard. Despite the success of the two tracks as singles and the inclusion of two cover versions, the album itself failed to chart..
History
Between the release of The Rill Thing and Little Richard's last album there had been several album releases, but all were repackaged collections of songs that had already been released previously, including some of his Specialty work.The release of the album came less than a year after Richard's performance at Atlantic City Pop Festival, and with "Freedom Blues" he had his biggest American pop hit in thirteen years. This period was about a year and a half before reported usage of cocaine
Richard returned to the studios in May 1971 to produce a follow-up for Reprise with a more "teen" sound.
Track listing
- "Freedom Blues" - 3:01
- "Greenwood, Mississippi" – 3:32
- "Two-Time Loser" – 3:20
- "Dew Drop Inn" – 2:41
- "Somebody Saw You" – 3:39
- "Spreadin' Natta, What's The Matter?" – 4:37
- "Rill Thing" – 10:27
- "Lovesick Blues" – 4:34
- "I Saw Her Standing There" – 3:31
Personnel
Tracks 1,4,7
Rest of personnel unknown, records not kept by Reprise.Tracks 3,5,7,8,9
- Little Richard – vocals, piano
- Harrison Callay - trumpet
- Ronnie Eader - baritone saxophone
- Harry Thompson - tenor saxophone
- Charles Rose - trombone
- Clayton Ivey - piano
- Jerry Masters - bass
- Travis Wammack - guitar
- Albert Lowe - guitar
- Roger Hawkins - drums
- Eddie Fletcher - bass
- Jesse Boyce - electric bass
- Wade Jackson - tenor saxophone
- Ed Thrasher - - art direction
- Ed Caraeff - cover photography
Charts
Year | Chart | Position |
1970 | Billboard Pop Albums | Did not chart |
Single
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
1970 | Freedom Blues/Dew Drop Inn | Billboard Hot 100/ Cashbox Top 100/ 'Billboard R & B Chart | 47/ 62/ 28 |
1970 | Greenwood, Mississippi/I Saw Her Standing There | Billboard Hot 100/ Cashbox Top 100 | 85/ 96 |