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szdaily -> Entertainment -> 
Rock ’n’ roll legend dies at 87
    2020-05-11  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

LITTLE RICHARD, one of the chief architects of rock ’n’ roll whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, died Saturday after battling bone cancer. He was 87.

Born Richard Wayne Penniman, Little Richard was one of rock ’n’ roll’s founding fathers who helped shatter the color line on the music charts, joining Chuck Berry and Fats Domino in bringing what was once called “race music” into the mainstream. Richard’s hyperkinetic piano playing, coupled with his howling vocals and hairdo, made him an implausible sensation — a gay, black man celebrated across the United States during the buttoned-down Eisenhower era.

He sold more than 30 million records worldwide, and his influence on other musicians was equally staggering, from the Beatles and Otis Redding to Creedence Clearwater Revival and David Bowie. In his personal life, he wavered between raunch and religion, alternately embracing the Good Book and outrageous behavior and looks — mascara-lined eyes, pencil-thin mustache and glittery suits.

It was 1956 when his classic “Tutti Frutti” landed like a hand grenade in the Top 40, exploding from radios and off turntables across the country. It was highlighted by Richard’s memorable call of “wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom.”

A string of hits followed, providing the foundation of rock music: “Lucille,” “Keep a Knockin’,” “Long Tall Sally,” and “Good Golly Miss Molly.” More than 40 years after the latter charted, Bruce Springsteen was still performing “Good Golly Miss Molly” live.

He was born in Macon, Georgia, during the Great Depression, one of 12 children. The family was religious, and Richard sang in local churches with a group called the Tiny Tots. The tug-of-war between his upbringing and rock ’n’ roll excess tormented Penniman throughout his career. At 15, he reportedly took on the nickname “Little Richard.” In 1951, he landed his first record deal with RCA.

Richard was cast in 1950s rock and roll films including “Don’t Knock the Rock” and “The Girl Can’t Help It.” But his wild lifestyle remained at odds with his faith, and a conflicted Richard quit the business in 1957 to enroll in a Bible school and get married. He later returned to his roots with a Gospel album titled “God Is Real.”

He mounted three tours of England between 1962 and 1964, with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones serving as opening acts. Back in the States, he put together a band that included guitarist Jimi Hendrix — and later fired Hendrix when he was late for a bus.

In the 1970s, Richard battled a cocaine problem and once again abandoned his musical career.

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in 1986, he was among the charter members with Elvis Presley, Berry, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke and others.

In 1993, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys. The superstar continued to perform and record music into his 80s.(SD-Agencies)

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