when asked why specialty was so successful, rupe credited his own ability to produce rather than his business skills. in the early 1960s, he stopped producing records but remained active in the music business as a publisher. he returned during the fifties revival period in the late 1960s but only to reissue landmark recordings of the r&b era. rupe sold specialty to fantasy records in 1991. however, it is worth noting that the contracts that were given to the artists to sign left rupe and others at the label with full ownership and publishing rights of the music. richard signed a contract with specialty records in 1955. he reportedly gave the label full ownership of all the music he recorded with them in return for 50% of the royalties earned. in his authorized biography, he states that he sold his publishing rights to “tutti frutti” for $50, leaving him with a small half-cent royalty rate per record sold. in 1959, little richard left the label and filed a lawsuit claiming he never received his royalties. he settled for $11,000 and waived his rights to royalties from such hits as “tutti frutti” and “long tall sally”.