By ELI JACE >
Many things will be different this year, but when the NFL's pre-kickoff festivities get underway a new jam will charge up the night. Little Richard's "Rip It Up (Feat. Butcher Brown)" will be the new starting bell when the Pittsburgh Steelers go up against the New York Giants tonight at 7 PM EST. The following game has the Tennessee Titans versus the Denver Broncos.
Little Richard's "Rip It Up" was a #1 R&B and Top 20 single on Billboard's Pop charts in 1956, but this is not that song exactly. The group Butcher Brown, out of Richmond, Virginia, bring it more into focus by recreating some of the instrumentals and adding in backing vocals. They beefed it up, but kept the polish on Richard.
Little Richard was the lip-licking Godfather of Rock N Roll.
If the piano was his canvas, he beat the paint into it. Along with "Rip It Up" Richards recorded "Tutti Frutti," "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Hound Dog," "Blueberry Hill" and a broken down jukebox full of others.
In 1986 Richard fittingly entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural ceremony with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly. The man lived a full life, and only just left this world on May 9 this year at 87. His lifespan encompasses the full historical arc of the genre that is rock 'n' roll and he'll never fade out.
Butcher Brown, now, has found a way to extract from the ether the creative energy of, not only Little Richard, but also Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Miles Davis and Prince, and whatever else was flying around.
All of these influences fuse together and come through on their upcoming full-length debut, #KingButch. The group are out to close the gap between hip-hop's tempo-driven beat and the improvisation of jazz. They funk. They rock. They space out.
Butcher Brown are Morgan Burrs on guitar, MC Marcus "Tennishu" Tenney on trumpet and sax, Andrew Randazzo on bass, Corey Fonville on the kit, and producer/keyboardist DJ Harrison. While this is their first time with the support of a label, they've been putting out music on their own imprint since 2013.
#KingButch is set to release this Friday, Sept. 18 on Concord Jazz. In the run-up they've released a few singles, including the title track above. Without doubt this is one of this year's great releases.
Posted in Tagged Best New Music, Butcher Brown, Concord Jazz, ESPN, Little Richard, Monday Night Football, NFL, Rip It Up, rock and roll, Rock and Roll Hall of a Fame Independent Music, Industry News, Music, Music News
