There really was a "Long Tall Sally," but she was not a cross-dresser as sometimes reported. Little Richard explained that Sally was a friend of the family who was always drinking whiskey - she would claim to have a cold and would drink hot toddies all day. He described her as tall and ugly, with just two teeth and cockeyed. She was having an affair with John, who was married to Mary, who they called "Short Fat Fanny." John and Mary would get in fights on the weekends, and when he saw her coming, he would duck back into a little alley to avoid her. Richard was one of 12 children, and in large southern families, they would call some of the people around them "uncle" or "aunt" even if they weren't related, so John was known as "Uncle John."
Richard wrote this while working as a dishwasher at a Greyhound bus station in Macon, Georgia. He also wrote "Tutti Frutti" and "Good Golly Miss Molly" while working there.
This was Little Richard's biggest hit. He was not huge on the charts, but was a rock 'n' roll innovator and famous for his stirring performances.
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