Little Richard Profile
Little Richard
Little Richard performing in Austin, Texas in March, 2007
Background information
Birth name Richard Wayne Penniman
Also known as The True King Of Rock 'n' Roll The Originator, The Emancipator, The Architect Of Rock 'n' Roll; The King of Rockin' an Rollin' Rhythm & Blues Soulin'
Born December 5, 1932 (1932-12-05) (age 75)
Origin Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Genre(s) Rhythm & Blues Rock & Roll Funk Soul Gospel
Instrument(s) Vocals Piano Keyboard Guitar
Years active 1951 - present
Label(s) Atlantic Bell Brunswick Coral Critique Elektra End Kent Lost-Nite Mainstream Manticore MCA Mercury Modern Okeh Peacock RCA Victor Reprise Specialty Vee Jay Warner Bros. WTG
Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5, 1932), better known by the stage name Little Richard, is a celebrated American singer, songwriter and pianist, who began performing in the 1940s and was a key figure in the transition from rhythm & blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. Penniman's reputation rests on a string of groundbreaking hit singles from 1955 through 1957, such as "Tutti Frutti", "Lucille" and "Long Tall Sally", which helped lay the foundation for rock and roll music, also influenced the development of that genre of music. Little Richard's early work was a mix of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel music, but with a heavily accentuated back-beat, funky saxophone grooves and raspy shouted vocals, moans, screams, and other emotive inflections that marked a new kind of music. In 1957, while at the height of stardom, he became a born-again Christian and withdrew from recording and performing secular music. Penniman has earned wide praise from many other performers. Singer James Brown called Little Richard his idol Otis Redding, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Mick Jagger, John Fogerty, Dick Dale, Bob Seger, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and numerous other rock n roll icons have also cited Little Richard as being their first major influence.
Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Recording career
2 Recent events
2.1 Awards/honors
3 Discography 4 References 5 External links
Biography Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia, to Leva Mae Stewart and Charles ("Bud") Penniman, a bootlegger. Nearly all of Richard Penniman's dramatic phrasing and swift vocal turns are derived from Black Gospel artists of the 1930s and 1940s. He referred to Sister Rosetta Tharpe as 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 applauded and cheered and she paid him more money than he had ever seen after the show. One of Penniman's main influences on his piano-playing was Esquerita (Eskew Reeder Jr.), who demonstrated to 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. 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. In 1952, Penniman's father was murdered. After this, he returned to Macon and performed blues and boogie-woogie music at the "Tick Tock Club" in the evening, whilst also washing dishes at the cafeteria of a Greyhound Lines bus station during the day.
Recording career In 1951, Penniman won a talent show in Atlanta, which resulted in a recording contract with RCA. He went on to record for Peacock Records in Houston Blackwell had nurtured and groomed Ray Charles (then known as R.C. Robinson) and Quincy Jones at the start of their careers in the music business. Blackwell had intended to pit Little Richard against Ray Charles and B.B. King by having him record blues tracks. He arranged for a recording session at Cosimo Matassa's recording studio in New Orleans in the late summer of 1955, when, during a break, Penniman began singing an impromptu recital of "Tutti Frutti", in his raspy, shouted vocal style, while pounding out a boogie-woogie based rhythm on the piano. Blackwell, who knew a hit when he heard one, was knocked out and had Little Richard record the song. However, in order to make it commercially acceptable, he had Little Richard's lyrics changed from "tutti-frutti, loose booty" to "tutti frutti, aw rooty." The song, with Little Richard shouting its unique introductory "A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-whop-bam-boom!", became the model for many subsequent Little Richard songs, with a driving piano, boogie-woogie bass, funky saxophone arrangements, with sax solos usually from Lee Allen. Over the next few years, Little Richard had many hit singles, such as "Long Tall Sally", "Lucille", "Rip It Up", "The Girl Can't Help It", "Slippin' and Slidin'", "Jenny, Jenny", "Good Golly, Miss Molly", and "Keep A Knockin'". His performing style can be seen in such period films as Don't Knock the Rock (1956) and The Girl Can't Help It (also 1956), for which he sang the title song. In the commercial fashion of the day, several of his early hits were re-recorded in other styles. Little Richard's first national success, "Tutti Frutti," was covered by Pat Boone, whose version outdid the source record, #12 to #17. Boone also released a version of "Long Tall Sally," with slightly bowdlerized lyrics. But this time, the Little Richard original outperformed it on the Billboard charts, #6 to #8. Bill Haley tackled Little Richard's third major hit, "Rip It Up," but again, Little Richard prevailed. With the record-buying public's preference established, Little Richard's subsequent releases did not face the same chart competition. Despite the raw sound of his music, the singles were carefully arranged, as documented on the three-volume album The Specialty Sessions, which include many false starts and variations.
Recent events Through the remainder of the 1980s, 1990s and into the twenty-first century, Little Richard has remained a popular guest on television, in music videos, commercials, movies and as a recording artist. He has contributed new recordings to movie soundtracks (ex. Twins, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Why Do Fools Fall in Love) and wrote and performed a song for the 2001 film The Trumpet of the Swan. He also sang background vocals on the U2 / BB King hit song "When Love Comes to Town," and in the extended "Live From The Kingdom Mix" of the track he preaches as well, sometimes amid funky saxophone playing. Penniman appeared on Living Colour's "Elvis Is Dead", and also recorded new tracks for tribute albums, such as Folkways: A Vision Shared ("The Rock Island Line") (1989) and Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to Johnny Cash ("Get Rhythm") (2002). He also recorded duets in the 1990s with Jon Bon Jovi, Hank Williams Jr., Living Color, Elton John, Tanya Tucker, Solomon Burke, and in 2006 with Jerry Lee Lewis, in which they covered the Little Richard-influenced, early 1960s, hit Beatles track "I Saw Her Standing There." He also recently headlined the University of Texas event "40 Acres Fest". In the 1990's, CNN's World Championship Wrestling (WCW) signed a contract with Marc Mero to play a flamboyant character by the name of Johnny B. Badd, based loosely on Little Richard, due to Mero's resemblance to the singer. In 2006 he was a judge on Celebrity Duets. In 2006/2007 he was featured in a Geico advertisement, wherein he uses his signature "whoop" to denote the joy he would receive while consuming "mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce" at a Thanksgiving dinner. In 2007 his song "All Around The World" was featured on a Cravendale Advertisement for an animation by PicPic which features a cow, a pirate, and a biker. In 2007, he also performed at the Capitol Fourth - a July 4th celebration (televised live on PBS) in front of the White House in Washington D.C. In 2001, he performed at the July 4th music event in Dublin, Ohio. On July 25th, 2007, he made an appearance on the ABC show The Next Best Thing. On February 10, 2008, he made an appearance at the 50th Grammy Awards, performing "Good Golly, Miss Molly" with Jerry Lee Lewis and John Fogerty.
Awards/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. In 1990, Little Richard was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1993, he then received a Honorary Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 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. In 1995, He received two Keys to the City of Providence, RI, one awarded spontaneously, on stage, by the 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.” In 2003, Little Richard was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Although, at least six of the seven artists which preceded him on the list were heavily influenced by Little Richard and his music (which he pointed out in the article). 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 (magazine)'s poll of "The Top 100 Records That Changed The World." On February 10. 2008, Little Richard appeared on the Grammy Awards, playing piano opposite Jerry Lee Lewis with John Fogerty, and performed "Good Golly Miss Molly" in a medley with "Great Balls of Fire".
Discography See Little Richard discography
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Little Richard
^ a b c d Little Richard. Inductees. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
External links
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 MySpace Site Little Richard Tribute at Digitaldreamdoor.com Little Richard News site Little Richard biography with pictures Album reviews "Little Richard" Penniman (entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia)
Top 5 Search Results
Little Richard - Wikipedia Entry on Little Richard, singer, songwriter, pianist, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll. Includes bio, awards and honors, and discography.
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Little Richard: Biography from Answers.com Little Richard , Pop Musician Born: 5 December 1932 Birthplace: Macon, Georgia Best Known As: Flamboyant singer of 'Tutti Frutti' Name at birth:
History of Rock: Little Richard Explores the milestones in Little Richard's career.
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