Little Richard’s ‘Tutti Frutti’: Billboard's 1955 Review

The song was Little Richard’s first entry on a Billboard chart in 1955.

There wasn’t much else like “Tutti Frutti” when Little Richard premiered the song in 1955.

The risqué song about sex and dancing, helped Richard land performing slots in clubs, and later established him as a certified hitmaker. The track also earned him his first career Billboard chart entry in 1955, debuting at No. 12 on the Best Sellers in Stores chart in November 1955, and later reaching No. 17 on the Most Played in Juke Boxes tally in 1956.

Before that, though, Billboard reviewed the song in the October 29, 1955 issue of the magazine, calling it “A cleverly styled novelty with nonsense words.”

Here’s the full mini-review from the magazine, alongside other by The Cadillacs, Piano Red, Margie Day and Rollee McGill.