RIP TO A LEGEND
What made Little Richard one of rock’n’roll’s primary architects, and the passing of those he preceded
Little Richard, one of the pioneers and originators of rock’n’roll, has died at the age of 87. His family made the announcement on May 9 from Nashville, bringing the final curtain down on the life of one of the great innovators of popular music in the 20th century.
Born in Macon, Georgia in 1932, to a religious family, Richard Wayne Penniman began singing in Pentecostal churches as a child, joining in the charismatic worship and live music performances of various churches. He later said that Sister Rosetta Tharpe (another key pioneer in the development of rhythm and blues, and rock’n’roll) was his favourite singer. Indeed, she would later invite him to open her show when he was 14, having overheard him sing some of her songs. He was paid, too, so he decided to become a professional performer.
Although Richard had learned to play the saxophone at school, seeing Ike Turner play piano on Rocket 88, often cited as one of the first rock’n’roll songs, along with Roy Brown’s Good
Rockin’ Tonight, changed his mind and he switched to the piano.
He left home and joined a medicine show, playing the kind of so-called “devil music” that was banned in his home. The debate about secular music was raging at the time in the USA, partly as a result of the groundbreaking work of Ray Charles, Chuck Berry and Little Richard himself. He was also developing his flamboyant style, performing in drag as “Princess LaVonne”.
It was during this period that he began to sport the pompadour hairstyle, thin moustache and pancake make-up that would remain his trademark look throughout his career. It should be remembered that this was the late 40s and 50s; for Richard to break down barriers by being this outrageous was radical to say the least. The only comparison I can think of is the Englishman Quentin Crisp and his determination to cross-dress flamboyantly in staid
post-World War II Britain. Little Richard had been recording since the late 1940s but it wasn’t until he signed for Specialty Records in 1955 that his career really took off. He released a wave of wild, exuberant singles that included
the iconic hits Tutti Frutti, Long Tall Sally, Lucille, Rip It Up, The Girl Can’t
Help It and Keep A-Knockin’. His wildeyed stage shows featured him standing up to the piano, whoopin’ and hollerin’ and prancing around.
The first time I saw Prince, I immediately realised that he had been inspired by Little Richard, but then many were. Here’s a partial list: Elvis, James Brown, The Beatles (especially Paul McCartney), Keith Richards, Elton John (who got his stage act directly from Richard after supporting one of the latter’s London gigs) and many, many more.
In the late 1950s, Richard’s excessive behaviour drove him to leave music and return to the church, something he would to throughout his career. Richard made a string of singles for Specialty Records that would remain the musical high-point of his career and be collected into two seminal albums.
When I DJ an R’n’B show, I nearly always play a few Little Richard tracks. After some trial and error, I can definitively report that Slippin’ And Slidin’
(Peepin’ And Hidin’) and Rip It Up go down very well with club dancers in Bangkok. RIP Little Richard, your music lives on.
World Beat celebrated Nigerian drummer Tony Allen’s 50th anniversary in 2014 as a drummer for Afrobeat master Fela Kuti with a review of his Film Of Life album. Allen, who died last month in Paris, was widely regarded as Africa’s greatest drummer, and with legend Fela Kuti he created Afrobeat, a potent brew of African rhythms and US funk. He played on all of Fela’s best songs and albums. (Interested readers might like to search for Opiyo Okeyo’s documentary film, Birth
Of Afrobeat, released in 2019, for background on Afrobeat.)
Allen played with Kuti from 1968-79 and then embarked on a stellar solo career and performed with a who’swho of the global pop music industry. He influenced many musicians, from jazz to rock to hip-hop. Think of him as important as, say, drummer Clyde Stubblefield was to James Brown.
I’ve written about Tony Allen as well as other African musical icons like Hugh Masekela. In fact, the two greats eventually sat down to produce a wonderful collaboration, Rejoice, released in January. Masekela unfortunately died that month, so the two did not have the opportunity to take their music on the road but, at least, we have the music. Rock on, Tony Allen, you will be missed.
Sadly, another great singer, joint lead vocalist with Harry Bowens for the mutant disco band Was (Not Was), Hillard “Sweat Pea” Atkinson passed away last week, aged 74. I saw him perform and heard his awesome voice at the Tokyo Music Festival with Was (Not Was), in around 1989. Was (Not Was) performed their biggest hit, Walk The
Dinosaur, and blew the venue apart; Atkinson was superb. After that performance I bought the 12-inch EP, Out
Come The Freaks, on Island Records, which features three different versions of the song (from 1981, 1986 and 1988), which I like to spin at my DJ nights. The track always goes down really well with dancers.
While Atkinson was always ready to sing the weirdness that the Was brothers conjured up, he struck up a great working relationship with Was (Not Was) guitarist Randy Jacobs (who co-wrote Walk The Dinosaur) and he sang on sessions for many musicians, including Bob Dylan, Elton John, Iggy pop and Willie Nelson. He also toured with Lyle Lovett for more than 10 years. Check him out on Out Come The Freaks.
Little Richard released a wave of wild, exuberant singles that included many iconic hits