Rock n Roll

Well, “You keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in / Come back tomorrow night and try it again,” because maybe then all will be forgiven. Then again, maybe not. The song has been popular since the late 1920s, but the version by Little Richard (aka Richard Wayne Penniman) is one of a kind (and so are his performances). In 1957, it went to #2 on the R&B Chart and #8  the U.S. Pop Chart. Rolling Stone magazine has this rendition among their “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

The number of versions of this song are legion. The following are just some of the artists who recorded their take on it: James “Boodle It” Wiggins, Louis Jordan, The Everly Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Buddy Holly * The Crickets, Mississippi John Hurt, Lindisfarne, Mott the Hoople, The Rivieras, The Trashmen, The Sonics, and Blue Angel featuring Cyndi Lauper.

Here are the lyrics to “Keep A-Knockin'” by Little Richard:

“Keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in
Keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in
Keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in
Come back tomorrow night and try it again

You said you love me and you can’t come in
You said you love me and you can’t come in
You said you love me and you can’t come in
Come back tomorrow night and try it again.

Keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in
Keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in
Keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in
come back tomorrow night and try it again
You said you love me and you can’t come in
You said you love me and you can’t come in
You said you love me and you can’t come in
Come back tomorrow night and try it again

Keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in
Keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in
Keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in
Come back tomorrow night and try it again
You said you love me and you can’t come in
You said you love me and you can’t come in
You said you love me and you can’t come in
Come back tomorrow night and try it again”

For other songs by Little Richard: “Good Golly Miss Molly,” “Long Tall Sally,” and “Tutti Frutti.”

For More Golden Oldies Music                                

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop music, rock and roll hits, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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