Li'l Red Riding Hood

For other uses, seeLittle Red Riding Hood (disambiguation).

"Li'l Red Riding Hood"is a 1966 song performed bySam the Shamand the Pharaohs. It was the group's second top-10 hit, reaching No. 2 on theBillboardHot 100 in August 1966Outside the US, it peaked at No. 2 on theCanadianRPMmagazine charts. It was certified gold by the RIAA on August 11, 1966.

"Li'l Red Riding Hood"
Cover artwork from the albumLi'l Red Riding Hood
SinglebySam the Shamand the Pharaohs
from the albumLi'l Red Riding Hood
B-side	"Love Me Like Before"
Released	June 1966(1966)
Genre	Garage rock
Length	2:35
Label	MGM
Songwriter(s)	Ron Blackwell
Sam the Shamand the Pharaohs singles chronology
"Red Hot" (1966) "Li'l Red Riding Hood" (1966) "The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin" (1966)

Premise

The song is built aroundCharles Perrault's fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood",adapted by ending before the grandmother makes her entrance. The effect, whether intentional or incidental, is to strip away the fairy tale's metaphorical device and present the relationship between the two characters without literary pretense.

The singer remarks on "what big eyes" and "what full lips" Red has, and eventually on "what a big heart" he himself has. An added element is that he says (presumably aside, to the song's audience) that he is disguised in a "sheep suit" until he can demonstrate his good intentions, but he seems to be having a hard time suppressing his wolf call in the form of a howl, in favor of the baa-ing of a sheep, at the very end of the song when Sam repeats the word "baa" a few times during the song's fade. One of its signature lines is "you're ev'rything that a big bad wolf could want." The song begins with a howl, and a spoken recitation that goes: "Who's that I see walkin' in these woods?/Why it's Little Red Riding Hood."

Attribution

The song whose lyrics are described just above is widely attributed to Ronald Blackwell.There seems to be no controversy (although various titles are occasionally used) that one with a similar title was earlier written and recorded bythe Big Bopper,and released as "Little Red Riding Hood" (i.e., withlittlespelled out) late in 1958 as the B-side of his second hit.The searchable sites with its complete lyrics as text seem to constitute no more than a handful,but a recording, purported to be of his voiceand thus presumably as being authoritative as to lyrics, exists online.

Though related in concept to the later Blackwell song, these differ in:

1. Conflating into one the wolves of Red Riding Hood andThe Three Little Pigs(and implying he is on good terms with the pigs)
2. Having the singercallhimself both the Big Bopper and theBig Bad Wolf
3. Encountering Red from outside her locked door, where he knocks seeking entrance
4. Being apparently more frank, in saying "you're the swingin'est and that's no lie", and insisting on being let in promptly lest the rest of the household return first
5. Foregoing mentioning any fairy-tale-wolfish characteristics or behavior except a Three-Pigs-wolfish threat to blow the house down (unless one counts cackling laughter).

Notable cover versions

To promote her movieRed Riding Hood,starAmanda Seyfriedperformed a cover of the song.

Song in popular culture

It is a prominent plot element in the 1993 filmStriking DistancewithBruce Willis,and it is featured in the filmsDigging for Fire,Wild Country(2005),andWolves at the Door(2016). A cover byLaura Gibsonwas in a 2012Volvocommercial for its S60T5. The song appeared in the TV showGrimm,where it was played at the beginning of the season 3 episode "Red Menace" that aired in 2014. It also appears just after the opening titles of the episode of the British soap operaCoronation Streetthat aired on theITVnetwork on October 18, 2021.

Certifications

Certifications for "Li'l Red Riding Hood"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)	Gold	1,000,000^
^Shipments figures based on certification alone.