Little Richard, the wildly flamboyant performer and self-proclaimed yet factual, "Innovator, Originator, and Architect of Rock and Roll", has passed away today at the age of eighty-seven. The singer/piano player had been struggling with bone cancer over the last few years and sadly succumbed to the disease at his brother's home in Nashville.
Born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, GA, his family was deeply religious and attended several churches in the area. As a child, Richard sang in church, perhaps too loudly for some, and was inspired by the great gospel performers of the day like Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson. In 1947, Tharpe heard a fourteen year old Penniman sing one of her songs and invited him to open for her show. After getting paid, this would fuel his desire to become a professional performer.
At sixteen, Penniman left home and joined a secular R&B band, Dr. Hudson's Medicine Show as a featured vocalist despite the dire warnings from his parents about singing the "Devil's music". He would later join Buster Brown's Orchestra with Brown giving him the name "Little Richard". As he watched popular r&b singers like Roy Brown and Billy Wright on stage, this was when Richard would start developing a taste for extremely flashy style and outrageous performance.
Richard toured vigorously throughout the South with different bands and as a solo artist trying to make a living. With Wright's help, he was signed with RCA Victor and recorded several singles with one, "Every Hour" becoming a local hit in Georgia. But after a year, Richard left the label when he couldn't achieve any national success.
Other major crossover hits followed including "Long Tall Sally", "Good Golly, Miss Molly", "Slippin' and Slidin'", "Rip It Up", "The Girl Can't Help It" and "Lucille" with Little Richard becoming a pop star and helping to usher in the sound of rock & roll. But this was at a time when Richard's hits were re-recorded by white artists (most notably Pat Boone) who were considered "safer" and their versions tended to move higher up the pop charts.
Richard briefly left secular music in 1958 after having some experiences (including plane troubles) that rattled him and took as "a sign from God" to change his wicked ways. During this time, he enrolled in college to study theology, formed an Evangelical group to preach across the country, recorded a gospel album produced by Quincy Jones and got married to Ernestine Harvin, a secretary from Washington, D.C.
But by 1962, Richard was asked to go on a European tour since he was still very popular there. With Sam Cooke as his opening act and a young Billy Preston who was a member of his gospel band, Richard reluctantly agreed and initially only performed gospel music. However, after he saw the reaction that Cooke was receiving during his set, Richard eventually let loose with his early rock & roll hits. During the tour, a rising new British group, The Beatles were allowed to open for Richard on some dates where he took them under his wing and offered some advice.
While he would spend a lot of time in his later years expressing this idea himself however it's actually very true; Little Richard has never received proper acknowledgement for his contributions to the invention of rock & roll. He is rarely mentioned when people speak of the early days of rock and his music simply doesn't get played anymore. Perhaps his progressively androgynous persona or wild stage antics might have played some part in his being left out of the discussion. But with his inventive sound and earth-shaking vocals, there is no denying that Little Richard was a true original whose great talent completely changed the pop music landscape and greatly influenced many artists who have followed him. To honor the legacy of this incredible performer, here are just a few songs from the great Little Richard:
