R.I.P. Little Richard

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Oh, no…what terrible news to wake up to. Little Richard, “the innovator, the originator, the architect of rock & roll” has died at the age of 87. 

The influence of Little Richard, aka Richard Penniman, cannot be denied. Hard rockin’ hits such as Good Golly Miss Molly, Long Tall Sally, Rip It Up (my favourite), Jenny Jenny, and, of course, Tutti Frutti changed the world.

Over the course of his long, illustrious career, Richard was torn between the power of Rock & Roll and the draw of Gospel music, eventually becoming an ordained minister.

I had the great pleasure to witness Little Richard on stage several times, most notably at the London Rock & Roll Show at Wembley Arena in 1972 where he “shared” the bill with Chuck Berry, Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bo Diddley. I say “shared”, because he really stole the show with a notoriously outrageous act that was closer to a striptease than a music set…causing the audience to boo him at times. But, as you can see by the accompanying video clip, Richard triumphed.

https://youtu.be/dG-8LousEXc

Let’s face it, it is a much sadder world out there knowing that Little Richard is no longer among us. That leaves just a handful of 50s rock & roll vets including Jerry Lee Lewis, Dion DiMucci, and Don Everly.

Click here to read more about Little Richard. 

I’ll leave you with these thought-provoking words…”A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!”

Marty Duda
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