Eddie is one of the greats of the New Orleans scene (and just about anywhere else). His career goes way back into the 50s, and this track is one of his earliest. As you listen to it spool out its one and zeros the chemical reactions that signal familiarity and memory in that brain of your should start firing. I know this song from somewhere, but where? Hmmmmmm.. Now imagine this tune covered with rum and set ablaze like a dish of Bananas Foster (and I do mean bananas), tornado fingers tearing at the black and whites while about 65 pounds of shiny, processed hair teeters back and forth like so many spinning plates in a jugglers act on the Ed Sullivan show. Thats right Spanky! Little Richard (again). Mister Penniman, during one of his seminal New Orleans sessions for Specialty (fueled by locals like Earl Palmer and Lee Allen) got his hooks into (or adapted as the case may be) Mr. Bos tune and dragged it through the streets like a muffler hanging off the back of a funny car. Im not here to deny the power of the Little Richard version - now entitled Slippin and Slidin (Peepin and Hidin).
The bottom line is this: You have to get permission from the other writers involved. Richard cleared it with Al Collins and Eddie Bo and he added their names on the credit. So they all get royalties. Elvis Presley did the same thing. He got permission from Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden, and Otis Blackwell. But Leiber-Stoller did not give him any permission, even though Elvis changed songs. Red West on his own gave Elvis songwriting credit on two songs that they co-wrote together.
kingoma61 5 months ago
@kingoma61 Why don't they apply your standard to the songs Elvis Presley received songwriting credit for? Elvis Presley changed the chord structure and melodies and lyrics as well to songs. Why not apply the same standard to Elvis Presley? Little Richard did the exact same thing Elvis Presley did. He put his name on the songwriting credits. Take "Kansas City" by Little Richard. It is written by Leiber-Stoller but he changed everything on that song. You cannot recognize it from the original.
kingoma61 5 months ago
@kingoma61 - I agree it seems wrong on the face of it that Little Richard was credited on his cover version, but if you analyse the song (and you don't have to analyse too deeply) I think there are substantial changes to the chords and melody which raise the overall quality, so maybe that's where the credit is earned. Buddy Holly's version is similar to Little Richard's, and cites Little Richard in the credits. "Slippin' and Slidin'" was a separate song, built on the foundations of "I'm Wise".
watchpotch 5 months ago
Why did Little Richard put his name on the songwriting credit? His 1956 version is just a cover. The music and the lyrics are essentially the same. Richard also put his name on the songwriting credit for "Long Tall Sally" when that song was, in fact, written by Enotris Johnson. His other songs such as "Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Rip It Up" and "Ready Teddy" were written by John Marascalco. The songwriters of "Slippin' and Slidin'" are Eddie Bocage, Al Collins, and James Smith.
kingoma61 6 months ago
The version that plays is the Apollo 486 cut not the Ric 989...which is slower...
motownjo1960 1 year ago