Meaning of Long Tall Sally by Little Richard & Song Story

Working as a dishwasher at the Greyhound Lines bus station, Little Richard wrote his first hits. Among them are Tutti Frutti, Good Golly Miss Molly, as well as the legendary song Long Tall Sally (“Long Sally”), which will be discussed later.

The history of creation and the meaning of Long Tall Sally

Producer Robert Bumps Blackwell said that a disc jockey friend introduced him to a girl who offered him sketches of the song. Allegedly, she wanted to earn money to pay for her aunt’s treatment.

Bumps brought the text to Richard, who substantially altered the words of the composition. Little later claimed that the characters in Long Tall Sally were all real people he knew as a teenager.

Let’s quote the musician.

In Georgia, when you grow up around a lot of people, you call them your uncles and aunts, so we called this guy Uncle John. He was indeed married to Mary, who was a big, fat lady who always sat on the porch and ate watermelon. She was a spectacle. We called her “Short Fat Ass” (Short Fat Fanny). When this guy showed up, they started fighting until Saturday. All blacks were paid on Fridays, so when Friday came, there was alcohol, there were fights, there was fun, and they had a good fight too.

Rolling stone

The main character of the song Long Tall Sally was also an acquaintance of Little Richard:

Yes… It was a lady who was drinking a little. When she came to our house, she always pretended to have a cold. She called and said, “Oh, Miss Pennyman, I have a terrible cough here!” She put sugar in whiskey and they called it “toddy”. That’s how she “toddled” all day, and when she got drunk, she would get up and say: “I can’t stand this, this cold is killing me, Mrs. Penniman.”

Rolling stone

According to the memoirs of Richard, she did not differ in unearthly beauty:

Sally usually came back with whiskey. She got drunk, and she was tall and scary, a really scary woman. She was so scary that people turned away. She had only a couple of teeth left, and they were on opposite sides of the tongue, and she also mowed.

Rolling stone

Such an unattractive appearance did not repel Uncle John, who, according to the musician, had an intimate relationship with Sally. If John’s wife appeared at the moment of their intimacy, he would run to a small alley.

Co-author of the composition, Richard called Enotris Johnson (Enotris Johnson), with whom he lived after he left his home. Researchers of his work believe that she did not take part in the work on the work, but Little wanted to thank her.

Recording and release

Previously, Pat Boone presented his cover of Tutti Frutti. His version charted higher than Richard’s original. To prevent history from repeating itself in the case of Long Tall Sally, Bumps Blackwell had Little perform the song as quickly as possible so that Boone could not sing it. The idea did not work, but more on that later.

The song was recorded on February 10, 1956 at J&M Studios in New Orleans. She was released as a single in March with the track Slippin’ and Slidin’ on the back. The song topped the Billboard R&B chart and peaked at number six on the pop chart.

Long Tall Sally is included in the famous list of the five hundred greatest musical compositions compiled by the readers of Rolling Stone magazine.

Cover versions

Pat Boone still performed Long Tall Sally. His version did not outperform Richard’s version on the charts, but appealed to white audiences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbHjbu01p7s

Elvis Presley also performed Long Tall Sally in 1956. He included the track on the Elvis album.

Eddie Cochran recorded Long Tall Sally for the Never to Be Forgotten album.

Long Tall Sally was often performed by The Beatles, who were greatly influenced by Little Richard. They often ended concerts with this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4gGFk2P854

In 1964, Long Tall Sally became the first single from the rock band The Kinks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcsgpV89D_M

Long Tall Sally was also performed by Wanda Jackson, Buzz Clifford, Scorpions and other musicians.

Let’s watch the music video from the Moscow rock festival in 1989, where Long Tall Sally was played by the Scorpions and Gorky Park.

Interesting Facts

The song’s working title was The Thing.
Richard’s way of performing the song helped bypass censorship. Allegedly, an NBC official said, “How can I reject it if I don’t even understand it?”
Long Tall Sally was included in the soundtracks of the films Predator, Red Scorpion and other films.
It also sounds in several PC games including Mafia II, Mafia III and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Long Tall Sally Lyrics

Gonna tell Aunt Mary ’bout Uncle John
He claims he has the misery but he’s havin’ a lot of fun
Oh baby, yeah baby, woo
Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah

Well long, tall Sally
She’s built for speed, she got
Everything that Uncle John needs, oh baby
Yeah baby, woo baby
Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah

Well, I saw Uncle John with long tall Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin’ and he ducked back in the alley oh baby
Yeah baby, woo baby
Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah, ow

Well, long, tall Sally
She’s built for speed, she got
Everything that Uncle John needs, oh baby
Yeah baby, woo baby
Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah

Well, I saw Uncle John with bald-head Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin’ and he ducked back in the alley, oh, baby
Yeah baby, woo, baby
Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah

We gonna have some fun tonight
We gonna have some fun tonight, woo
Have some fun tonight, everything’s all right
Have some fun, have me some fun tonight

Long Tall Sally Lyrics – Little Richard Alternative

Gotta tell Aunt Mary about Uncle John
He insists that he is not well, but he constantly has fun.
Oh baby, yeah baby
Let’s have some fun tonight, yeah

So, lanky Sally,
She’s for fast driving
She’s got everything Uncle John needs, oh baby.
Oh baby, yeah baby
Let’s have some fun tonight, yeah

Well, I caught Uncle John with lanky Sally.
He saw Aunt Mary and slipped into the alley, oh baby.
Oh baby, yeah baby
Let’s have some fun tonight, yeah

So, lanky Sally,
She’s for fast driving
She’s got everything Uncle John needs, oh baby.
Oh baby, yeah baby
Let’s have some fun tonight, yeah

So, I caught Uncle John with bald Sally.
He saw Aunt Mary and slipped into the alley, oh baby.
Oh baby, yeah baby
Let’s have some fun tonight, yeah

We’ll have fun in the evening
We’ll have fun in the evening.
Let’s have some fun tonight, it’s all right.
Let’s have fun in the evening, have fun in the evening.