Long Tall Sally
by Little Richard
- 92
- BPM
- F major
- Key
- 7B
- Camelot
- 42
- Danceability
- 75
- Acousticness
The song started with a gift from a girl. According to Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, a popular disc jockey, Honey Chile, introduced him to a little girl who had written a few lines on a piece of paper so she could pay for treatment for her ailing aunt Mary. Blackwell took the idea to Little Richard, who was reluctant at first. The line "ducked back in the alley" was just what they wanted, though, and Richard practiced until he could sing it as fast as possible. They added verses and a chorus. Enotris Johnson, a local songwriter, is the third credited writer, and her family confirmed her part after her death in 2015.
The pair wanted something so quick that Pat Boone could not handle it after his cover of "Tutti Frutti" reached number 12. Boone recorded it anyway. His version hit number 18.
Richard recorded it on February 7, 1956, at J&M Recording Studio in New Orleans, with Lee Allen on tenor saxophone and Earl Palmer on drums. Specialty released it that March. It reached number 1 on the rhythm and blues chart and number 6 on the pop chart, and it was the best-selling 45 in Specialty's history.
Long Tall Sally runs at 92 BPM, the tempo of hip-hop, R&B and reggaeton. In classical terms it sits in andante territory. A bar of 4/4 lasts 2.61 seconds, and a quarter-note delay is 652 ms. It is in F major, Camelot 7B, which shares its notes with D minor and mixes cleanly with Bb major and C major.
We use multiple sources as part of our online research for the song story including Wikipedia.