Listening

Guide 7-2_3c.

Long Tall Sally as recorded by Little Richard (1956)

Features:
The piano plays a shuffle beat rhythmic pattern.

The first, second, sixth, and seventh choruses begin with a four-bar instrumental
device called stop time. These are not complete breaks for the instruments; rather,
the instruments play a single chord on the first beat of each of the first three bars,
and then break for the rest of those bars and the entire fourth bar so the vocal line
can be heard alone.

The third, fourth, and fifth choruses are strictly instrumental, with a tenor
saxophonist playing an improvised solo employing a "growl" in his tone, effectively
imitating Little Richard's rough vocal style.

The eighth chorus is sung and does not use the stop time instrumental beginning.

Tempo:
The tempo is about 176 beats per minute, with four beats per bar.

Form:
The musical form of the twelve-bar blues is followed, but, as was generally the case
with blues recordings made by rock musicians, the text does not repeat the A
section of the poetic form.

The recording has eight full choruses of the blues form.

Lyrics:
The singer has caught Uncle John with a loose woman and hopes to have a chance
with that woman himself that night.