READY TEDDY
“Ready Teddy” is a song written by John Marascalco and Robert Blackwell, and first made popular by Little Richard in 1956. It has since been covered by Buddy Holly, The Tornados, Elvis Presley, Tony Sheridan, and others, making it something of a rock and roll standard. The composition, an uptempo rock and roll song, received its largest ever recognition on the evening of September 9, 1956, as Elvis Presley sang it in front of some 60 million television viewers during his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show at CBS, a broadcast which received a Trendex percentage share of 82.6, the largest ever obtained in the history of US television. (More from Wikipedia)
Little Richard is another man who helped lay the foundations of rock and roll. His hit songs – “Tutti Frutti”, “Long Tall Sally”, “Slippin’ and Slidin’”, “Jenny, Jenny”, “Ready Teddy”, “Keep a Knockin’”, “Good Golly, Miss Molly”, etc. – are so primal and so ingrained in the rock and roll milieu that it seems like they have always been there. Little Richard (real name: Richard Penniman) is sometimes unfairly dismissed as a one-dimensional shouter, but he brought a passion to his music – and a flamboyant personality to match – that made even Elvis Presley seem tame by comparison. His short stature only exaggerated the vehemence of his performances.
(June 2013/1)
