Esquerita

Esquerita cut a flamboyant figure with his 6" pompadour, brocaded shirts, rhinestone shades, and a pounding, combative approach to the piano, positioning him as Little Richard’s true forerunner long before Penniman scored his breakthrough with “Tutti Frutti.” Active on the Dallas-New Orleans circuit in the early ’50s, Esquerita gained a major-label chance when Capitol Records, having already signed Gene Vincent as their answer to Elvis, sought their own equivalent of Little Richard. Although the resulting sides benefited from polished production, they remain among the rawest and most unrestrained tracks ever put out by a major imprint. Worldwide rock & roll devotees have long treasured these performances, which make Little Richard’s own Specialty recordings appear measured and orderly by contrast. Esquerita kept issuing material in a more restrained manner through the ’60s, yet his Capitol work endures as a testament to rock & roll’s unhinged force and to Esquerita’s own idiosyncratic brilliance.