Michelle Kaplan

Little Richard a Living Legend

Some legendary musicians are just that, legendary, some fade into memories just to have their name and their music become a tough trivia question on a quiz show. Little Richard is not one of them.

Turn on the TV today and you’ll find him, alive, well and still in that seemingly perpetual motion, that high energy that he’s famous for. In a currently airing TV commercial for insurance, you’ll spot him, instantly recognizable, there sits the man known as the “Architect of Rock and Roll,” not many could make one line so funny or so memorable - as he belts out “Mashed potatoes and gravy…cranberry sauce,” followed by the infamous, “WOOOOO,” with an expression on his face that is all at once over the top dramatic and yet in that same instance he’s letting you in on the joke, funny, you can just feel
the smile spread across your face.

Little Richard conjures up images of loud raucous rock and roll, hard, banging on the keys piano, flash and hair, lots of flash and hair. The look was inspired early on by Bill Wright, another singer who wore makeup and heavy eyeliner, something in that look got Little Richard’s attention.

Entertainer, showman, actor, singer, song writer he was born Richard Wayne Penniman, on December 5, 1932, the son of a preacher who was later murdered. He grew up poor in Macon, Georgia where music was all around him. Rich soul stirring gospel mingled with the blues steeped in the Deep South with a dash of cool New Orleans jazz thrown into the mix. The singing of the street vendors vying for
the attention of customers, the singing of the crop sharers working in the fields, this was his Juilliard, this was the back drop he sang against.

One of his first public acknowledgments of his talent came when he was18, he won a talent contest in Atlanta. Although the prize was a recording contract with RCA, it didn’t lead to fame and fortune.

A friend and fellow musician had him send a demo to Specialty Records he got a call six months later. The recording session didn’t go that well, later they broke and Little Richard started showing off on an old piano. That got him some attention.

The originally lewd “Tutti Fruiti, good booty” was cleaned up and recorded as “Tutti Fruiti, as-rootie,” 50 songs, nine singles and two albums later his fate was sealed.

The list of performers who he has inspired is a who’s who list of rock and roll legends themselves. A young Jimi Hendrix was a guitarist for a short period with his band. The Rolling Stones opened for Little Richard.

His music is instantly recognizable, hits include: Good Golly Miss Molly, Long Tall Sally, Slippin’ and Slidin’, Keep a knockin’, The Girl Can’t Help it and Jenny, Jenny. He has 29 albums in his discography.

He has appeared in several films including “The Girl Can’t Help It,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills.” He has made numerous TV appearances and as an official minister performed the weddings for Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore and Bruce Springsteen.

Beloved as an icon, his music is ingrained in our memory. The 1950’s cannot be remembered without his music playing in the background, he provided the soundtrack for an entire generation, inspiring the music that was, that is and is yet to come.

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