NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll” whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died Saturday. He was 87.
A True Rock Legend
Born December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia, Richard Wayne Penniman Little Richard (and who had twelve siblings) was one of the creators of rock ‘n’ roll in the late 1950s. With Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Bo Diddley, he was one of the first black rock ‘n’ roll musicians to find favor with the general public. A true rock legend adored by young Paul McCartney, while John Lennon had been more sensitive to Chuck Berry.
A series of unstoppable successes
In 1956, starting from “Tutti Frutti,” Little Richard composed a series of unstoppable successes, from “Long Tall Sally” to “Rip It Up.” In 1957 he created ” Lucille” and in 1957, and ” Good Golly Miss Molly. ” Coming from R&B, Little Richard allowed in the 1950s, like other black artists like Chuck Berry or Fats Domino, the emergence of a new genre, rock, and roll. His vocal exclamations came from the gospel, and his explicit words profoundly transformed the music of the time. In the 60s, he hired the young Jimi Hendrix in his group but dismissed him quickly because the guitarist was too charismatic.
“I heard Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, and that’s it,” said Elton John had to Rolling Stone in 1973. “I never wanted to be anything else. I’m more of a Little Richard designer than a Jerry Lee Lewis, I think. Jerry Lee is a very sophisticated and skillful pianist, but Little Richard is no longer a heavyweight! “