Keep A-Knockin'
Encyclopedia
"Keep A-Knockin'" is a popular song from the late 1920s, possibly written by Perry Bradford
. Variations were recorded by James "Boodle It" Wiggins in 1928, Lil Johnson
in 1935, Milton Brown
in 1936 and Louis Jordan
in 1939. (According to Rolling Stone
, Jordan had gotten it from James Wiggins and Kokomo Arnold
.)
An answer song
titled "I Hear You Knocking
," written by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King, having a similar melody but slower tempo, was published in 1955 and first recorded by Smiley Lewis
, reaching #2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. It became a more mainstream #2 hit when sung by Gale Storm
that same year.
The most well-known rendition of the song is the rhythm and blues
/rock and roll
recording by Little Richard
in September 1957, which reached #2 on the U.S. R&B charts and #8 on the U.S. pop charts. Rolling Stone magazine later ranked this version in their Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, placing it at #442.
The song, an eight-bar blues, concerns a lover at the door who won't be admitted, in some versions because someone else is already there but in most others because the knocking lover has behaved badly. A similar lyrical theme appears in "Open the Door, Richard
," but from the viewpoint of the one knocking.
The song "Somethin' Else" written by Eddie Cochran
and Sharon Sheeley
, was recorded with a drum beat identical to "Keep A-Knockin'". Cochran was a huge fan of Little Richard.
The drum introduction played by Charles Connor in the Little Richard recording inspired the drum introduction John Bonham
played for the song "Rock and Roll
" by Led Zeppelin
, recorded in their album Led Zeppelin IV
.
Little Richard played the song on an episode of Full House
. He recorded a version of the song with different lyrics as an introduction for the NBC
show Friday Night
. The song was also featured in the theatrical trailer for Home Alone
.
Perry Bradford
Perry Bradford was an African American composer, songwriter, and vaudeville performer....
. Variations were recorded by James "Boodle It" Wiggins in 1928, Lil Johnson
Lil Johnson (blues singer)
Lil Johnson was an African American singer, who recorded bawdy blues and hokum songs in the 1920s and 1930s....
in 1935, Milton Brown
Milton Brown
Milton Brown was an American band leader and vocalist who co-founded the genre of Western swing. His band was the first to fuse hillbilly hokum, jazz, and pop together into a unique, distinctly American hybrid, thus giving him the nickname, "Father of Western Swing"...
in 1936 and Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
in 1939. (According to Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Jordan had gotten it from James Wiggins and Kokomo Arnold
Kokomo Arnold
Kokomo Arnold was an American blues musician.Born as James Arnold in Lovejoy's Station, Georgia, he got his nickname in 1934 after releasing "Old Original Kokomo Blues" for the Decca label; it was a cover of the Scrapper Blackwell blues song about the city of Kokomo, Indiana...
.)
An answer song
Answer song
An answer song is, as the name suggests, a song made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. It is also known as a response song. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s...
titled "I Hear You Knocking
I Hear You Knocking
"I Hear You Knocking" is a popular rhythm and blues song with emphatic syncopation, written by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King and published in 1955. The original recording was made by Smiley Lewis, reaching #2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.The lyrics concern a former lover whose knocking at...
," written by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King, having a similar melody but slower tempo, was published in 1955 and first recorded by Smiley Lewis
Smiley Lewis
Smiley Lewis was an American New Orleans rhythm and blues musician. The journalist, Tony Russell, in his book The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, stated "Lewis was the unluckiest man in New Orleans...
, reaching #2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. It became a more mainstream #2 hit when sung by Gale Storm
Gale Storm
Gale Storm was an American actress and singer who starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show.-Early life:...
that same year.
The most well-known rendition of the song is the rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
/rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
recording by Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
in September 1957, which reached #2 on the U.S. R&B charts and #8 on the U.S. pop charts. Rolling Stone magazine later ranked this version in their Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, placing it at #442.
The song, an eight-bar blues, concerns a lover at the door who won't be admitted, in some versions because someone else is already there but in most others because the knocking lover has behaved badly. A similar lyrical theme appears in "Open the Door, Richard
Open the Door, Richard
"Open the Door, Richard" is a song first recorded on the Black & White Records label by saxophonistist Jack McVea at the suggestion of A&R man Ralph Bass. In 1947, it was the number-one song on Billboards "Honor Roll of Hits" and became a runaway pop sensation.-Origin:"Open the Door, Richard"...
," but from the viewpoint of the one knocking.
The song "Somethin' Else" written by Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
and Sharon Sheeley
Sharon Sheeley
Sharon Sheeley was an American songwriter, born in California, who wrote songs for Glen Campbell, Ricky Nelson, Brenda Lee, and Sheeley's former fiancé, Eddie Cochran.-Life:...
, was recorded with a drum beat identical to "Keep A-Knockin'". Cochran was a huge fan of Little Richard.
The drum introduction played by Charles Connor in the Little Richard recording inspired the drum introduction John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
played for the song "Rock and Roll
Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin song)
"Rock and Roll" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was first released as the second track from the band's fourth album in 1971, with a guest appearance by The Rolling Stones pianist Ian Stewart.-Overview:...
" by Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, recorded in their album Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin IV
The fourth album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on 8 November 1971. No title is printed on the album, so it is generally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, following the naming standard used by the band's first three studio albums...
.
Little Richard played the song on an episode of Full House
Full House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
. He recorded a version of the song with different lyrics as an introduction for the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
show Friday Night
Friday Night Videos
Friday Night Videos is an American music video show broadcast on the NBC television network from July 29, 1983 to December 30, 2000, and was the network's attempt to capitalize on the emerging popularity of music videos as seen on MTV...
. The song was also featured in the theatrical trailer for Home Alone
Home Alone
Home Alone is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The film stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy, who is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for their Christmas vacation...
.
Cover versions after Little Richard
- Blue Angel (band)Blue Angel (band)Blue Angel was a retro-rockabilly band that featured Cyndi Lauper before her rise to fame as a solo singer. The lineup also included John Turi on keyboard instrument and saxophone, Arthur "Rockin' A" Neilson , Lee Brovitz and Johnny Morelli...
(featuring Cyndi LauperCyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
) (1980) - Buddy Holly & The Crickets
- East & West Rockers
- Flamin' Groovies (1976)
- HurriganesHurriganesHurriganes is a Finnish rock band that was formed in the early 1970s. They were very popular in Finland in the 1970s and early '80s; they were also a popular live act in Sweden during this time. Their classic line-up consisted of Remu Aaltonen, Albert Järvinen and Cisse Häkkinen. What seems like...
- LindisfarneLindisfarneLindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...
- Liquorice John Death
- Mississippi John HurtMississippi John HurtJohn Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
- Mott The HoopleMott the HoopleMott the Hoople were a British rock band with strong R&B roots, popular in the glam rock era of the early to mid 1970s. They are popularly known for the song "All the Young Dudes", written for them by David Bowie and appearing on their 1972 album of the same name.-The early years:Mott The Hoople...
(1972) - Suzi QuatroSuzi QuatroSusan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
(1974) - The BlastersThe BlastersThe Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...
- The Everly BrothersThe Everly BrothersThe Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
(1959) - The OutlawsThe Outlaws (UK band)The Outlaws were an English instrumental band that recorded in the early 1960s. One time members included Ritchie Blackmore, Chas Hodges, Bobby Graham, Ken Lundgren, Mick Underwood, Reg Hawkins , Billy Kuy and others....
- The SonicsThe SonicsThe Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, originating from the early and mid-1960s. Among The Sonics' contemporaries were The Kingsmen, The Wailers, The Dynamics, The Regents, and Paul Revere & the Raiders...
(1964) - The TrashmenThe TrashmenThe Trashmen are a rock and roll band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1962. The group's original lineup was Tony Andreason on lead guitar and vocals, Dal Winslow on guitar and vocals, Steve Wahrer on drums and vocals, and Bob Reed on bass guitar...
- The WoodentopsThe WoodentopsThe Woodentops are a British rock band that have enjoyed critical acclaim and moderate popularity in the mid-1980s.-History:The band formed in 1983 in South London with an initial line-up of Rolo McGinty , Simon Mawby , Alice Thompson , Frank DeFreitas , and Paul Hookham .After a...
- Roger TaylorRoger Meddows-TaylorRoger Meddows Taylor , known as Roger Taylor, is a British musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the drummer, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of British rock band Queen. As a drummer he is known for his "big" unique sound and is considered one of...
(of Queen) (1997) - Red Band (2008)