Little Richard 1953 "Crown Prince of the Blues" Very Early Boxing-Style Concert Poster....

Description

Little Richard 1953 "Crown Prince of the Blues" Very Early Boxing-Style Concert Poster. An original cardboard window card advertising rock 'n' roll founding father Little Richard, very early in his career, playing at the New Era Club in Nashville, Tennessee beginning on Friday night, October 30, 1953. Although lots of song titles are given on the poster, this was two full years before Mr. Penniman charted anything on any Billboard magazine chart.

This blue & white concert poster was made by the Hatch Show Print company out of Nashville, TN - the same city as the club. This is the only specimen of this poster that exists, it's safe to say, and this is the first time it's ever been publicly sold. It's now or never on this one! Measures a shade under 14" x 22" and grades to Very Good condition. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: "The Crown Prince of the Blues," the poster proclaims, as Richard launched his career during the post-World War II jump blues era. Four song titles are then listed: the A- and B-sides of his first RCA Records single, the label that initially signed him. His first single for Nipper from November 1951 was "Taxi Blues" b/w "Every Hour." The poster then gives the A- and B-sides for his most recent single for Houston's Peacock label: "Ain't That Good News" b/w "Fool at the Wheel." It was still a long way to go before "Tutti-Frutti" broke big for Richard in late 1955 (Top 5 R&B, Top 20 Pop). You gotta love the way this poster proclaims Little Richard "The Voice," appearing in person. And then that ever-so-catchy and quaint bottom line: "Fast Floor Shows Nitely." Wow!

Condition details: Poster was once quarter-folded down to fit into Hatch Show Print's filing cabinets. A bit of color is broken along the vertical fold, such as in the "H" in "Richard" and "S" in "Shows." Also has very lightly bumped corners and the expected light toning from the passage of six decades, especially around the four margins. There's also a small surface blemish to the right of "Richard." There's also a small half-inch edge tear to the left of "Fast" at the bottom, not visible enough to make it worth repairing but mentioned for full disclosure.

On the verso, the creases have not been reinforced and the horizontal fold, in particular, has broken the cardboard all the way across and weakened the board's structural integrity. So it flexes easily but lies flat nicely and this problem would vanish if it were framed. One could apply their own strong tape over these creases and considerably strengthen this window card. Also, "53" is written in pen in one of the corners, and likewise "1953" in red grease pen in another, both presumably by Hatch.


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