Rip It Up

Song facts

From Wikipedia:

“Rip It Up” is a song written by Robert Blackwell and John Marascalco. It was first released by Little Richard in June, 1956. Bill Haley and his Comets also released a recording of the song that year. The Little Richard version hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart for two weeks and peaked at number 17 on the pop chart. The Bill Haley and the Comets recording reached number twenty five on the Billboard pop singles chart and number four in the UK. Bill Haley and the Comets also performed their version of the song in the 1956 film Don’t Knock the Rock, in which Little Richard also appeared.

[…] During the Get Back sessions in 1969, The Beatles recorded the song as part of a medley with “Shake, Rattle and Roll” and “Blue Suede Shoes“. This recording was released in 1996 on the album Anthology 3. It was covered in 1975 by John Lennon on his album Rock ‘n’ Roll, in a medley together with the song “Ready Teddy”. […]

From Anthology 3 liner notes:

The Beatles performed more “oldies” during the Savile Row sessions than new original material, and three songs from an extended jam on 26 January are presented here, George and John playing electric guitars, Ringo on drums, Paul playing piano and Billy Preston the organ, all with great energy. The first is Rip It Up, with John and Paul sharing the lead vocal. Although recorded by every major rock artist of the 1950s the best known version is Little Richard’s original – it was his fourth great single for the Specialty label, issued in June 1956. […]

From The Beatles Bible:

[…] Although released as a medley on Anthology 3, Rip It Up/Shake, Rattle And Roll/Blue Suede Shoes weren’t actually recorded as one. The songs were among a number of rock ‘n’ roll songs played by The Beatles on 26 January; others performed, with varying degrees of success, were Great Balls Of Fire, High School Confidential, Twist And Shout, Kansas City, Miss Ann, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, You Really Got A Hold On Me and Tracks Of My Tears. […]

In 2016, Paul McCartney surprised his audience when he played “Rip It Up” during the encore of the 2nd night of the Desert Trip concerts.

Last updated on July 3, 2017

Lyrics