GONNA TELL AUNT MARY
'BOUT UNCLE JOHN
HE CLAM HE HAS THE MISERY
BUT HE HAS A LOT OF FUN...
Richard Wayne Penniman
(December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020),
known professionally as
Little Richard
was an
American singer,
pianist,
and songwriter.
He was an
influential figure
in popular music
and culture
for seven decades.
Described as the
"Architect of Rock and Roll",
Richard's most
celebrated work
dates from
the mid-1950s,
when his
charismatic showmanship
and dynamic music,
characterized by
frenetic piano playing,
pounding backbeat
and powerful
raspy vocals,
laid the foundation
for rock and roll.
Richard's innovative
emotive vocalizations
and uptempo
rhythmic music
played a
key role
in the formation
of other
popular music genres,
including soul
and funk.
He influenced singers
and musicians
across musical genres
from rock
to hip hop;
his music helped
shape
rhythm and blues
for generations.
"Tutti Frutti"
(1955),
one of Richard's
signature songs,
became an
instant hit,
crossing over
to the pop charts
in the United States
and the
United Kingdom.
His next hit single,
"Long Tall Sally"
(1956),
hit No. 1
on the
Billboard
Rhythm and Blues
Best-Sellers chart,
followed by a
rapid succession
of fifteen more in less
than three years.
In 1962,
after a
five-year period
during which
Richard abandoned
rock and roll music
for born-again
Christianity,
concert promoter
Don Arden
persuaded him to
tour Europe.
During this time,
the Beatles opened
for Richard
on some
tour dates.
Richard is cited
as one of the
first crossover
black artists,
reaching audiences
of all races.
His music and
concerts
broke the color line,
drawing black
and white people
together
despite attempts
to sustain segregation.
Many of his
contemporaries,
including
Elvis Presley,
Buddy Holly,
Bill Haley,
Jerry Lee Lewis,
the Everly Brothers,
Gene Vincent,
Pat Boone,
and
Eddie Cochran,
recorded covers
of his works.
Richard was honored by
many institutions.
He was inducted into
the
Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame
as part of its
first group
of inductees
in 1986.
He was also
inducted into
the Songwriters
Hall of Fame.
He was the recipient of
Lifetime Achievement Awards
from The
Recording Academy
and the
Rhythm and Blues
Foundation.
In 2015,
Richard received a
Rhapsody & Rhythm Award
from the
National Museum
of African American Music.
"Tutti Frutti"
was included in the
National Recording
Registry of the Library
of Congress in 2010,
which stated that his
"unique vocalizing
over the
irresistible beat
announced a
new era in music".
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