Nuki Suki

Recorded on March 27, 1972, at the Record Plant in Los Angeles for Little Richard's album The Second Coming, Nuki Suki features Richard on vocals and keyboards, Chuck Rainey on bass, Earl Palmer on drums, and guitarists David T. Walker, Mike Deasy, Adolph Jacobs and George Davis. The session also featured Sneaky Pete Kleinow on pedal steel guitar, Lee Allen and Bill Hemmons on tenor saxophone, and Jim Horn on baritone saxophone, with production and arrangements by Richard and Robert 'Bumps' Blackwell. Released in November 1972, Nuki Suki was written by saxophonist Bill Hemmons and appeared on Little Richard's third album for Reprise Records, The Second Coming. Its relaxed, swampy rhythmic arrangement contrasted with the more energetic performances on the album, demonstrating Richard's exploration of contemporary Black American popular music alongside musicians associated with his original 1950s recordings. Nuki Suki remains part of Little Richard's early-1970s Reprise catalogue, documenting his reunion with producer Robert 'Bumps' Blackwell and a combination of pioneering rock-and-roll musicians and contemporary session players. Its inclusion on the 2004 collection King of Rock and Roll: The Complete Reprise Recordings and the 2020 Omnivore Recordings reissue of The Second Coming has preserved the track for subsequent generations.