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 Little
Richard (1932-�), American singer and songwriter, one of the originators
of rock-and-roll music in the late 1950s (see� Rock Music: Rock and
Roll). Little Richard was one of the first rock-and-roll artists to
appeal to a broad audience, gaining a following among both white and
black teenagers. His rebellious music, wild performances, and flamboyant
appearance helped define early rock and roll and greatly influenced
later artists, including the British rock groups the Beatles and the
Rolling Stones in the 1960s. Little Richard was born Richard Wayne
Penniman in Macon, Georgia, into a family of 12 children. His father,
a devout Seventh Day Adventist, was a bartender who sold bootleg whiskey
and did not do much to encourage Little Richard's musical interests.
Driven by his family's intolerance of his homosexuality, Little Richard
left home at the age of 13. He sang gospel music at carnivals before
he was adopted by a white family who ran an R&B ( rhythm and blues)
club in Macon, where he performed. At the age of 19, Little Richard
won an audition that resulted in a contract with RCA, a major record
company. Over the next several years he recorded tame songs that had
no commercial success. In 1955 he moved to Specialty Records, a small
record company that took him to New Orleans, Louisiana, for a recording
session that would become legendary. At first the session was unremarkable,
then during a break, Little Richard began singing an obscene nonsense
song called "Tutti Frutti." Recognizing the potential of the music,
the session's producer had a writer modify the lyrics, and in 1956
Little Richard recorded "Tutti Frutti," which became his first hit
song and a rock-and-roll classic. In quick succession, Little Richard
then recorded many of the songs for which he is best known, including
"Long Tall Sally" (1956), "Rip It Up" (1956), "Jenny, Jenny" (1957),
and "Good Golly Miss Molly" (1958). His live performances were characterized
by an unforgettable style. Wearing thick makeup, black mascara, and
a six-inch pompadour (a hairstyle formed by brushing the hair high
from the forehead), Little Richard would stand at a piano and sing
with happy raw abandon, punctuating his vocals with a trademark scream.
Ironically, he gained further exposure when white singers such as
American Pat Boone began performing tamer versions of his songs. During
1956 and 1957, the two most successful years of his career, Little
Richard appeared in three motion pictures: Don't Knock the Rock (1956),
The Girl Can't Help It (1956), and Mr. Rock 'n' Roll (1957). In 1957
he stopped singing rock and roll to study for the ministry, hoping
to overcome what he regarded as his sinful homosexuality. Little Richard
sang gospel music from 1958 to 1962, having been ordained as a minister
of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in 1961. He returned to rock music
in 1964 and made sporadic comeback attempts. In 1979 Little Richard
turned again to religion, becoming an evangelist, but during the 1980s
he once again returned to nonreligious pursuits as a rock-music celebrity.
In 1986 he costarred with American actor Bette Midler in a successful
motion picture, Down and Out in Beverly Hills. Since that time he
has appeared frequently in the press and on television, where he is
celebrated as one of the greatest rock-and-roll stars of all time.
In 1986 Little Richard was chosen as one of the founding members of
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1993 he was presented with
a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
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