Little Richard

Little Richard
Little Richard performing in Austin, Texas in March, 2007
Background information
Birth name	Richard Wayne Penniman
Also known as	Little Richard
Born	December 5, 1932 (1932-12-05) (age 76)
Origin	Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Rock and roll, rhythm and blues, soul, gospel
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active	1951 - present
Labels	RCA Camden, Peacock, Specialty, Gone, Atlantic, Bell, Brunswick, Coral, Critique, Elektra, End, Guest Star, Kent, Lost-Nite, Mainstream, Manticore, MCA, Mercury, Modern, Vee Jay, Okeh, Reprise, K-Tel, Black Label, Warner Bros., WTG

Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5, 1932), known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and recording artist, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame web site entry on Richard states that:

"More than any other performer - save, perhaps, Elvis Presley, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. On record, he made spine-tingling rock and roll. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as "Tutti Frutti", "Long Tall Sally" and "Good Golly, Miss Molly" defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll."^[1]

Beginning his recording career in 1951 by imitating the gospel-influenced style of late-40s jump blues artist Billy Wright,^[2] Little Richard did not break through commercially until 1955. That year, under the guidance of Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, he began recording in a style he had been performing onstage for years,^[3] featuring varied rhythm, a heavy backbeat, funky saxophone grooves, over-the-top Gospel-style singing, moans, screams, and other emotive inflections, accompanied by a combination of boogie-woogie and rhythm and blues music. This new music,^[4] which included an original injection of funk into the rock and roll beat,^[1] inspired James Brown,^[5] Elvis Presley,^[6] and generations of other rhythm & blues, rock and soul music artists.^[7] He was subsequently among the seven initial inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and was one of only four of these honorees (along with Ray Charles, James Brown, and Fats Domino) to also receive the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1957, while at the height of stardom, he became a born-again Christian, enrolled in and attended Bible college to become a preacher and evangelist, and withdrew from recording and performing secular music.^[8]

Biography

Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia, the third of twelve children of Charles "Bud" Penniman, a bootlegger,^{[citation needed]} and his wife Leva Mae Stewart. He grew up in a religious family, amid poverty and racism, and singing made his family feel closer to God. His family had a group called the Penniman Singers, who performed in local churches and entered contests with other singing families. His family called him 'War Hawk' because of his loud, screaming singing voice. His grandfather, Walter Penniman, was a preacher, and his father's family were members of the Foundation Templar African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Macon. His maternal grandmother was a member of Macon's Holiness Temple Baptist Church. Penniman attended the New Hope Baptist Church in Macon, where his mother was a member. Penniman's favorites were the Pentecostal churches because of the music and the fun he would have doing the holy dance and talking in tongues with members of the congregation. When he was ten, he became a healer, singing gospel songs and touching people, who would testify that they felt better afterwards. Inspired by Brother Joe May, a singing evangelist known as 'The Thunderbolt of the West', Penniman wanted to become a preacher. It was through the church where Richard's life in music began.^[9]

Nearly all of Penniman's dramatic phrasing and swift vocal turns are derived from black Gospel artists of the 1930s and '40s. He said Sister Rosetta Tharpe was his favorite singer when he was a child. She had invited him to sing a song with her onstage at the Macon City Auditorium in 1945, after hearing him sing before the concert. The crowd cheered, and she paid him more money than he had ever seen after the show.^[10] He was also influenced by Marion Williams, from whom he got the trademark "whoooo" in his vocal, Mahalia Jackson and Brother Joe May.^[11] He was influenced in appearance (hair, clothing, shoes, makeup, etc.) and sound by late 1940s gospel-style, jump blues shouter Billy Wright, who was known as the 'Prince of the Blues'.^[12]

One of Penniman's main influences in piano-playing was Esquerita (Eskew Reeder, Jr.), who showed Penniman how to play high notes without compromising bass. Penniman met Esquerita when he traveled through Macon with a preacher named Sister Rosa. Another influence was Brother Joe May. Penniman explained, "I used to get in a room and try to make my piano sound just like him. He had so much energy." May generated energy by moving from a subtle whisper to a thunderous tenor and back in a four-bar phrase.

Penniman lived in a black neighborhood, where he had some contact with whites but due to racial segregation he could not cross the line where the whites lived. While in high school, Penniman played alto saxophone in the marching band. He began losing interest in school and began performing in a variety of travellng shows in his mid-teens.^[13]

He learned to mix ministerial qualities with theatrics by watching the traveling medicine shows that rolled through his native Macon. Colorful medicine men would wear lavish capes, robes and turbans, all of which left an impression on Penniman.

1950s

In October 1951, at the age of 18, Little Richard began recording jump blues records for RCA Camden. His father was shot to death while he was in a recording session on January 12, 1952.^[13] In 1953, he began recording with Peacock Records.^[14] He formed a road band during this period that he called "The Upsetters," which included saxophonists Grady Gaines, Wilbert 'Lee Diamond' Smith, and Clifford 'Gene' Burks, along with New Orleans drummer Charles 'Chuck' Connors, Olsie 'Baysee' Robinson on bass, and Nathaniel 'Buster' Douglas on guitar.^[15][16] Records were released each year from 1951-54, but none were significant hits.

At Lloyd Price's suggestion, Little Richard recorded a demo for gospel/R&B label Specialty Records on February 9, 1955.^[17] Specialty's owner, Art Rupe, loaned him money to buy out his contract from Peacock Records and placed his career in the hands of Specialty's A&R man Robert "Bumps" Blackwell,^[18]

Rupe and Blackwell originally pictured Little Richard as a commercial rival to Ray Charles, who was experiencing success with Atlantic Records by taking gospel songs and developing them in a bluesy setting with a beat.^[19] Little Richard told Rupe he liked Fats Domino's sound, so Rupe and Blackwell booked Cosimo Matassa's J & M Recording Studio in New Orleans,^[20] and hired studio musicians who had worked with Domino (including Earl Palmer on drums and Lee Allen on sax) rather than members of Little Richard's road band.^[21]

Following some recording that did not satisfy Blackwell, they took a break. Penniman began pounding out a boogie woogie rhythm on piano and hollering out impromptu recital of "Tutti Frutti", a song he wrote and had been performing on stage for years. Blackwell was so impressed with the sound that he had Little Richard record the song. However, in order to make it commercially acceptable, he had Little Richard's lyrics changed from "tutti-frutti, good booty" to "tutti frutti, aw rooty."^[22][23] (All rooty was hipster slang for "all right".) The song featured a powerhouse acappella intro "Awop-Bop-a-Loo-Mop Alop-Bam-Boom!" that had also been altered slightly to make it commercially acceptable.^[24] The recording was released on Specialty in October 1955.^[25]

Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" climbed to the top of Billboard's R&B chart. Sixteen more hit singles followed in less than three years, seven of which reached number 1.^[26] While most of these hits were characterized by a driving piano, boogie-woogie bass line, a variety of rhythmic drumbeats, and wild screams before Lee Allen's funky sax solos, such as Rip It Up", "Lucille", "Jenny, Jenny", "Good Golly, Miss Molly" and "Keep A-Knockin'", a few of them were slower and more soulful, such as "Slippin' and Slidin'", "Send Me Some Lovin'" and "True Fine Mama".^[26] During this period, he also appeared performing his hit songs in three films, including The Girl Can't Help It (1956), in which he sang the hit title track, Don't Knock the Rock (1956), and Mister Rock and Roll (1957).

"Tutti Frutti" was quickly covered by both Elvis Presley and Pat Boone.^[27] Boone's single outdid the source record on Billboard's Top 100 pop chart. Boone also released a version of "Long Tall Sally" with slightly bowdlerized lyrics, but this time, the Little Richard original version outperformed the cover on the Billboard pop chart.^{[citation needed]} Presley and Bill Haley tackled Little Richard's fourth R&B chart topper, "Rip It Up", but again, Little Richard's version went higher in the charts.^{[citation needed]} With the record-buying public's preference established, Little Richard's subsequent releases did not face the same chart competition.^{[clarification needed]}

Little Richard, along with his road band, performed his hits in sports stadiums and concert venues across the United States through 1956 and 1957.^[28] He brought the races together at his concerts, at a time in the United States when laws still dictated that public facilities (including concert venues) be divided into separate "white" and "colored" domains. Little Richard's audiences would start out segregated in the building, usually with one race on the floor and the other on the balcony, but most of the time, by the end of the night they were mixed together.^[29] Racists in the south, such as The North Alabama White Citizens Council, responded by putting out statements on television, warning the public that "Rock n Roll is part of a test to undermine the morals of the youth of our nation. It is sexualistic, unmoralistic and ... brings people of both races together."^[30] The demand for him was so great, however, that even in the south where segregation was most rampant, the taboos against black artists appearing in white venues were being shattered.^[31]

Penniman was an innovative and charismatic performer, appearing in sequined capes under flicker lights that he brought from show business into the music world. He would run off and on the stage, jumping, yelling, and whipping the audience into a frenzy.^[32] At a concert in Baltimore, Maryland, US concert history was made^[33] when excited people had to be restrained from jumping off the balconies, and the police had to stop the show twice to remove dozens of hyserical girls that had climbed onstage to try to rip souvenirs off of Penniman. Later in the show, girls began to throw their undergarments onto the stage.^[33]

In early October 1957, on the fifth date of a two week tour of Australia, Little Richard was flying from Melbourne to appear in front of forty thousand fans in concert in Sydney. Shocked by the red hot appearance of the engines against the night sky, he envisioned angels holding up the plane. Then, while he performed at the stadium, he was shaken by the sight of a ball of fire that he watched streak across the sky overhead. He took what was actually the Russian rocket Sputnik as another sign to quit show business and follow God. The following day he departed Sydney on a ferry and threw his ring in the water to show his bandmembers that he was serious about quitting. The plane that he was originally scheduled to fly back home on ended up crashing in the Pacific Ocean, which he took as confirmation that he was doing what God wanted him to do.^[34]

The news of him quitting at the height of his career had broken all over the world by the time he returned to the United States.^[35] He attended one more recording session for Specialty on October 18, 1957,^[36] and, at the request of DJ Alan Freed, performed a farewell concert at the Apollo Theatre in New York. He then had his roadies drive his Cadillacs across the United States to a property he bought for his mother in California and gave her the keys.^[37] He formed the Little Richard Evangelistic Team, travelling across the country preaching, and helped people locally through a ministry on skid row in Los Angeles.^[38]

From October 1957 through to 1962, Little Richard recorded gospel music for Goldner, Little Star, Mercury, and Atlantic Records.^[39] He also enrolled in Oakwood College, in Hunstville, Alabama, where he planned to take a three year course which was to culminate in ordination.^{[40][clarification needed]} In November 1957, he met Ernestine Campbell at an evangelistic meeting in Washington.^[40] They were married on July 11, 1959.^[41]

1960s

Following release of his gospel album for Mercury Records, Little Richard met Mahalia Jackson, one of his childhood heroes. She was appearing in Los Angeles and he stopped her on the street to invite her to hear him sing at the Mount Maria Baptist Church. She attended and indicated that she was delighted with his singing, stating that "he was singing gospel songs the way they should be sung" and "he had that primitive beat and sound that came so naturally."^[42] Two of his gospel songs during this period hit the charts - "He's Not Just a Soldier" (1961) for Mercury, and Crying In The Chapel" (1962) for Atlantic Records.^[43] He continued in the ministry but was experiencing marital problems and some difficulty living a disciplined Christian life.^[44]

Although rock and roll sales were in a slump in America in 1962, Little Richard records were still selling well in England. British promoter Don Arden booked him for an October tour of the country, with The Beatles as an opening act.^[45] Penniman thought he was going to perform gospel music but Arden had promoted the concert as a rock and roll show. Refusing to travel by airplane, Penniman sailed from New York on the aging liner SS Roterdam. On the first night of the tour he began performing gospel music, however, tempted by the lure of show business, he gave in the pressure and began performing his secular hits. The crowds appeared spellbound, with people standing and near hysterical girls in the aisles. He walked off to a standing ovation. The frenzied crowd reaction was to be repeated wherever Little Richard appeared.^[46]

Penniman returned to Specialty Records in April 1963, recording one secular track. In mid-summer, around the time of his divorce, Don Arden began negotiating a second tour of England. Penniman did not tell disclose this to the church community because wasn't convinced that Rock and Roll was evil and he still wanted to keep his options open in the ministry.^[47]

Little Richard toured England and Wales in October and November 1963,^[48] with Bo Diddley, The Everly Brothers and the then little known Rolling Stones.^[49][50] Mick Jagger would later state, "I heard so much about the audience reaction, I thought there must be some exaggeration. But it was all true. He drove the whole house into a complete frenzy... I couldn't believe the power of Little Richard onstage. He was amazing."^[51] Near the end of the tour, he recorded a television show, "The Little Richard Spectacular", with Sounds Incorporated as the backing band and The Shirelles performing backing vocals, for Britain's largest independent television company at the time, Granada Network. First shown on British commercial television in May 1964, the broadcast was an overwhelming success. Granada repeated the broadcast twice after receiving over 60,000 letters from fans. Much of the footage was used for a TV special, highlighting the frenzy and excitement of Rock and Roll, which was seen all over the world.^[52]

Penniman recorded four more secular tracks for Specialty in April 1964.^[53] One of these recordings, "Bama Lama, Bama Loo", would return him to the charts but not near to the degree of his 50s hits.

On March 1, 1964, he brought a fledgling Jimi Hendrix into his band,^[45] who was then wanting to be known as Maurice James.^[54] He started dressing like Little Richard and grew a moustache like his.^[55] Prior to becoming world famous, he toured with Little Richard and played on at least a dozen tracks for Vee Jay Records between the spring of 1964 and 1965.^[56] Three singles, including a cover of Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On, would again hit the charts with moderate success.^[57] In 1966, Hendrix was quoted as saying, "I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice.".^[58]

Little Richard recorded more Rock and Roll in the later part of the 1960s for three separate labels. In 1966 and 1967, he recorded two funky soul albums for Okeh Records, with his old friend Larry Williams, as producer, and Johnny Guitar Watson on guitar^[59] that resulted in the hit single, "Poor Dog."^[60] Williams also acted as the music director for Little Richard's live performances at the Okeh Club in Los Angeles. Live bookings for Little Richard during this period skyrocketed^[60] and returned him to the Billboard's album chart for the first time in ten years.^[61] He traveled extensively in the United States, as well as in Europe, Mexico, and Canada, throughout the remainder of the decade.^[48]

1970s

Little Richard continued to tour, appear the occasional film, and record secular music in the early to mid-1970s. He had four minor hits for Reprise Records between 1970 and 1973 and a single charted briefly for Manticore in 1975.^[62] That same year, he played piano on the recording "Take It Like a Man" on the Bachman-Turner Overdrive hit album Head On.^[63] In 1976, he re-recorded twenty of his biggest '50s hits in Nashville for a K-Tel Records album.^[63]

In 1977, following a long period of drug and alcohol abuse, the death of a nephew that he loved as a son, along with a violent clash with his long-time friend Larry Williams over a drug debt,^[64] Little Richard repented for his wayward living and returned to evangelism.^[65] He also represented Memorial Bibles International and sold their Black Heritage Bible, which highlighted the many black people in the Bible.^[65] In many sermons during this period, he proclaimed that it was not possible to perform rock and roll music and serve God at the same time. In 1979, he recorded a gospel album entitled "God's Beautiful City."^[65]

1980s

In 1984, the music world's attention was refocused on Penniman, following the publication of an authorized biography about his life that received critical acclaim and rave reviews from the most prestigious U.S. journals and newspapers. Time magazine, Newsweek, The Philadelphia Enquirer, The Los Angeles Times, and the Washigton Post gave Little Richard massive coverage.^[66]

Shortly before the publication of the biography, Penniman's mother died. A few months prior to her death, she asked him to promise that he would remain a Christian. He reconciled his role as a minister and as a rock & roll artist, stating that he believed that rock and roll music could be used for good or evil. He explained that in order to be good, the message should be positive, wholesome, elevating and uplifting.^[67]

In an effort to merge his faith with his music, Little Richard enrolled his old friend Billy Preston to help him write a song with religious lyrics that sounded like rock & roll. The song was destined for the soundtrack of a new motion picture entitled Down and Out in Beverly Hills, in which he would also co-star. The result was "Great Gosh a'Mighty (It's A Matter of Time)", which became a hit.^[68] The song was included in an album of faith-based material that he recorded primarily in England from 1984 through 1986 entitled "Lifetime Friend" for Warner Bros. Records. Penniman referred to his new style of music as "message music" and "messages in rhythm".^[69][70]

Near the end of the recording process for "Lifetime Friend," Penniman flew back to the United States to appear in an episode of the television show Miami Vice. Following filming he broke his leg in a serious automobile accident in Los Angeles, from which he recovered and completed recording of the album in California.^[71] During the recovery process, he videotaped an acceptance speech that was played on January 23, 1986, when he was one of the first artists inducted into the newly formed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[65]

On April 1, 1986, the motion picture Down and Out in Beverly Hills was released,^[65] for which he received critical acclaim for his acting performance.^[67] In 1988, he appeared on the tribute album Folkways: A Vision Shared ("The Rock Island Line", backed by Fishbone) ^[72] and performed the theme song for the Twins motion picture soundtrack with Philip Bailey. He also preached the sermon and sang background vocals on the 1989 U2-B. B. King hit "When Love Comes to Town"(extended "Live From The Kingdom Mix").^[73]

1990s

Little Richard remained active through the 1990s on television, in music videos, commercials, movies, in concert and as a guest recording artist.^[74] In 1990, he recorded a rap segment for Living Colour's "Elvis Is Dead" (featuring Maceo Parker on saxophone) and then performed it with the band live on television.^[75][76][77] He appeared (as a preacher) in music videos for the Cinderella recording "Shelter Me" and in a new recording of "Good Golly Miss Molly" for the motion picture King Ralph (1991).^[74][78] He recorded an album of classic children's songs in his original rocking style for Disney, as well as the opening theme song for the science mystery cartoon The Magic School Bus. He recorded duets with Jon Bon Jovi, Hank Williams, Jr., Elton John, Tanya Tucker and Solomon Burke, and new tracks for two motion picture soundtracks: Casper the Friendly Ghost (1995) and Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998). He appeared (as himself) in the latter, as well as in the 1999 film Mystery, Alaska, in which he sang the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "O Canada". He also guest starred as himself in television shows including Columbo (in an episode entitled "The Murder of a Rock Star"),^[79] Full House (in the episode entitled "Too Little Richard Too Late") and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.^[74]

2000s

In 2000, Robert Townsend directed a biopic entitled Little Richard about the artist's life from childhood to his early 30s (circa 1962). Leon Robinson received an Emmy Award nomination for his outstanding performance in the starring role.^[80]

Little Richard continued to record, tour, and appear on television throughout the decade.^[28][74] He wrote and recorded a song for the 2001 film The Trumpet of the Swan. In 2002, he recorded a rocking version of Johnny Cash's "Get Rhythm" for Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to Johnny Cash. In 2005, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a duet of the Beatles' hit "I Saw Her Standing There" for Lewis's 2006 album Last Man Standing. In 2006, he was featured in a hit Geico television advertisement.^[81] Later that year, he was selected by Simon Cowell as judge for the FOX television series Celebrity Duets.^[82] On March 24, 2007, Little Richard performed and lectured students at the University of Texas event "40 Acres Fest", featuring 1200 bands.^[83][84][85] He also performed that year at the Capitol Fourth—a July 4 celebration in front of the White House. On July 25, 2007, he made an appearance on the ABC show The Next Best Thing.^[86] On November 22, 2007, he headlined the halftime show for the Thanksgiving football game of Arizona State University vs. the University of Southern California at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.^[87] In 2007, to help raise funds to benefit sick and dying children, as well as to debunk the notion that Don Imus was a racist, he recorded a guest track for The Imus Ranch Record (2008).^[88] In June 2008, Little Richard also made a cameo appearance on The Young and the Restless as an ordained piano-playing minister.^[89]

Reverend Richard Penniman, who had performed wedding ceremonies for celebrities including Cindy Lauper, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Bruce Springsteen, and John Branca (for whom Michael Jackson was best man),^[90][91] spoke at his old friend Wilson Pickett's January 2006 funeral,^[92], officiated at a wedding of twenty couples in December 2006,^[93] and preached at Ike Turner's December 2007 funeral.^{[94][unreliable source?]} On May 30, 2009, following a performance in honor of Fats Domino to raise funds to help rebuild children's playgrounds devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Penniman led Domino and others present in prayer.^[95][96] On June 12, 2009, prior to performing for the grand finale of 29th annual Riverbend Music Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee^[97] he said, "although I sing rock 'n' roll, God still loves me. I'm a rock 'n' roll singer, but I'm still a Christian."^[98]

Influence

Little Richard influenced the development of a variety of musical genres. James Brown, who called Little Richard his idol,^[99] stated that he was the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat via his mid-1950s road band.^[65] Otis Redding, whose inspiration was Little Richard, indicated that he contributed significantly to the development of soul music.^[5] Richie Unterberger of allmusic.com stated that Little Richard "was crucial in upping the voltage from high-powered R&B into the similar, yet different, guise of rock & roll."^[100]

Little Richard has been recognized for his musical contributions by many other high-profile artists. In 1989, Ray Charles introduced him at the Legends of Rock n Roll concert in Rome, Italy, as "a man that started a kind of music that set the pace for a lot of what's happening today."^[4] Bo Diddley stated that "Little Richard was a one-of-a-kind show business genius. He influenced so many people in the business."^[101] Paul McCartney said that he idolized Little Richard when he was in school and always wanted to sing like him.^[102] In his high school year book, Bob Dylan declared that his ambition was "to join Little Richard".^[103] In 1966, Jimi Hendrix, who played and recorded with Little Richard's band from 1964 to 1965, was quoted as saying: "I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice."^[104][105] Mick Jagger,^[106] Bob Seger,^[107] John Fogerty,^[108] David Bowie^[109] and Rod Stewart^[110] are among the other artists who have stated that Little Richard was a primary rock 'n' roll influence. In 1979, as he began to develop his solo career, Michael Jackson was quoted as saying that Little Richard was a huge influence on him.^[111]

Awards and Honors

• In 1956, Cashbox awarded Little Richard the Cashbox Triple Crown Award for his second hit single "Long Tall Sally".
• In 1986, Little Richard was one of the first group of recording artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[112]
• In 1990, Little Richard was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[113]
• In 1993, he then received an Honorary Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.^[114]
• In 1994, Little Richard was the fourth recording artist (the others being Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and James Brown) to be recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.^[115]
• In 1995, he received two Keys to the City of Providence, Rhode Island; one was awarded spontaneously, on stage, by Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci
• In 1997, he received the American Music Award of Merit.
• In 2002, BMI, during the 50th Annual BMI Pop Awards celebration, Little Richard, along with Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry, were awarded the first BMI Icon Awards in recognition of their “unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.”^[116]
• In 2002, Little Richard received the NAACP Image Award - Hall of Fame Award for having "distinguished himself as not only an unparalleled musical genius, but also as a unique and innovative performing artist—fusing pure vocal talent with exhilarating showmanship."^[117]
• In 2003, Little Richard was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.^[118]
• In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Little Richard #8 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[119]
• In 2006, Little Richard was inducted into the Apollo Theater Legends Hall of Fame, at the same time as Ella Fitzgerald (who was one of the first winners of 'Amateur Night at the Apollo' in 1934) and Gladys Knight & the Pips.
• In 2007, Little Richard's 1955 original hit "Tutti Frutti" topped Mojo's The Top 100 Records That Changed The World.^[120]
• In 2009, while performing at "The Domino Effect", a charitable event to help raise funds to rebuild playgrounds for children that were destroyed in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, Little Richard was surprised by being formally inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. LMHOF Executive Director Mike Shepherd presented him with his official certificate and a blown-up photo of his first gold record, “Tutti Frutti."^{[121][dead link]}

Discography

Filmography

• The Girl Can't Help It (1956), performing the title number, "Ready Teddy" and "She's Got It"
• Don't Knock the Rock (1956), performing "Long Tall Sally" and "Tutti Frutti"
• Catalina Caper (aka Never Steal Anything Wet, 1967)
• Little Richard: Live at the Toronto Peace Festival (1969)
• The London Rock & Roll Show (1972), performing "Lucille", "Rip It Up", "Good Golly Miss Molly", "Tutti Frutti" and "Jenny Jenny"
• Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
• Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987)
• Shelley Duvall's Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme (Disney) "Party With the King" (1990)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Little Richard

• Little Richard biography at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Little Richard biography at the Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Little Richard in Rolling Stones Top 10 Artists of all Time
• Little Richard biography with pictures
• Little Richard at London Rock 'n' Roll Festival, November 20th, 2008
• "Little Richard" Penniman (entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia)
• Louisiana Music Hall of Fame Induction Page