The Rill Thing was Little Richard's comeback album after three years away. Utilising yet another new sound, the largely swamp rock album contained Little Richard's biggest post-Specialty single in "Freedom Blues", which broke the Billboard top 50, and a lesser success with the follow-up single, "Greenwood, Mississippi", which made the top 90; although the tune made number 56 on Cashbox Black Singles. The title track itself was a ten-minute plus instrumental penned by Richard. Despite the success of the two tracks as singles and the inclusion of two cover versions, the album itself failed to chart. (although actual sales are reported well over 200,000).