Little Richard Finds New Following With Kids’ Album : Pop music: Walt Disney Records will release ‘Shake It All About’ on Oct. 20.

He was singing “Tutti Frutti” instead of “Cop Killer,” but in some ways Little Richard was to the ‘50s what Ice-T has been to ’92. At the time, he was associated with youthful frenzy, racial integration and other controversial elements of the era--impressions underscored years later by his confessions of bisexual backstage orgies and drug abuse, even as he several times abandoned rock ‘n’ roll in favor of preaching.

“When I came along they weren’t used to seeing a person daring like this, you know, a person jumping over pianos and screaming and loud colors and long hair,” Little Richard said with his near-hysterical inflections, sitting in the lounge of the West Hollywood hotel where he lives. “They said I was evil and satanic.”

Though his songs were non-topical, he relates to Ice-T’s recent experiences. “I was into a situation like that, though it was a little different,” he said. “Mine was people didn’t want to see a black artist with white girls screaming. . . . We were really talking about dancing, having fun. But they didn’t understand. It was back to the Bible Belt in the South, and the people that call themselves righteous. They want you to judge your standards by them. Not by the Bible, but by them.”

But in the times of “Cop Killer,” a song like “Long Tall Sally” seems rather innocent. So it makes sense that Little Richard has found a new following after decades as an oldie-but-goodie. He’s been commissioned to drive kids into a frenzy again, but this time we’re really talking kids . On Oct. 20, Walt Disney Records will release “Shake It All About,” a Little Richard album of children’s songs, replete with the charter Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s trademark pumping piano and punctuating shrieks.

Richard’s new, youthful following started with his role as the high-strung neighbor in the 1986 film “Down and Out in Beverly Hills.” The return to prominence was sidetracked by a serious auto accident that same year, but after recuperating, Little Richard--born Richard Penniman in 1932 in Macon, Ga.--was again in the public eye, mostly through appearances in commercials for the likes of Taco Bell.

“There was a period I could go anyplace and not be recognized, but no more,” he said. “After Taco Bell and ‘Down and Out in Beverly Hills’ it hasn’t been that way. We go someplace and the kids go to screaming.”

Adults haven’t entirely forgotten Little Richard--he’ll be performing Saturday at the Forum on a rock oldies bill with Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley and Ronnie Spector, and he continues to be a solid concert attraction around the country as well as in Europe and Japan.

But it’s the preteen audience that’s giving the biggest response. That really came clear last year when he participated in Disney’s “For Our Children,” an album of children’s songs recorded by pop stars to benefit the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

To many, Little Richard’s version of “Itsy Bitsy Spider” was the show-stealer, and a video of the song became a staple on the Disney Channel and other children’s television outlets. A full album seemed the next logical step.

“ ‘For Our Children’ really put him in the limelight with children and parents,” said Mark Jaffe, vice president of Walt Disney Records. “We’re getting advance orders from record retailers now and the people that have their own kids are really stepping up to the plate.”

Do Little Richard’s more scandalous exploits stir any concern at traditionally conservative and cautious Disney?

“It was very important to look at his musical contributions first,” Jaffe said. “Everybody has a past and we felt the present and the values he espouses through his music and the value he has with families was the important thing to look at.”

It’s an attitude that suits Little Richard. “We don’t go back on our past with the press,” he said, sternly, using the imperial we he sometimes favors.

“(Disney) asked us not to, and we don’t. We don’t talk about it, period. Our image with Disney has been very clean. In fact our image has been clean all my life, really. Just people have said a lot of stuff that they didn’t know. . . . I think a person’s life should be in harmony to help kids, and I’ve tried to maintain that.”

Little Richard also refused to discuss his religion, despite the high visibility of his preaching activity in the past and rumors that he had converted to Judaism after his accident. “We don’t talk about that in write-ups,” he said. “That’s personal and it’s very dear to me.”

But he’s happy to talk about the upswing of his career, which is now handled by three separate, powerful agencies: William Morris (which books his concert dates), International Creative Management (for product commercials) and Agency for the Performing Arts (for movie roles).

He’s currently preparing to do commercials for three products as well as new Taco Bell spots, and he has a significant part as “the president of a planet” in “The Pickle,” a film from “Down and Out” director Paul Mazursky due in theaters Oct. 1.

“I am blessed,” he said. “I am making more money now than I ever made in my life.”

Most remarkable, though, is that after all this time he looks as youthful as his music still sounds.

“Some friends came over to see me and they go, ‘Have you gotten this pulled up?’ ” he said, running his hand along his chin and cheek. “I say no, but if it ever comes to that, I will. We gonna find out what doctor Michael Jackson used.”

Suddenly remembering his comments were being taped, he leaned toward the recorder.

“And I’m not downing Michael. I love Michael! He looks fantastic!”