TUTTILY AMAZING Music legends line up to salute their inspiration Little Richard
MUSIC legends queued up to pay tribute to Little Richard after the singer dubbed the founding father of rock died yesterday at the age of 87.
The music legend’s son Danny Penniman confirmed his father passed away at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, but gave no cause of death.
However, he had suffered poor health for several years, including hip problems, a stroke and a heart attack.
Famed for hits including Tutti Frutti, Good Golly Miss Molly, The Girl Can’t Help It, Keep A-Knockin’ and Long Tall Sally, Little Richard influenced whole generations of musicians with his high octane piano playing, gospel-inspired vocals and sexually-charged lyrics.
Few will forget his “Wop-bob-aloo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom” opening line from Tutti Frutti in 1955, which he came up with while bored washing dishes.
Guitarist Kelvin Holly, who played alongside Little Richard, led the tributes.
He wrote: “Rest in peace, Richard. This one really stings.
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“My thoughts and prayers go out to all my bandmates and fans all over the world. Richard truly was the king.”
Mick Jagger added: “Little Richard was the biggest inspiration of my early teens and his music still has the same raw electric energy when you play it now as it did when it first shot through the music scene in the mid-50s.
“When we were on tour with him, I would watch his moves every night and learn from him how to entertain and involve the audience.”
Stones guitarist Keith Richards wrote: “There will never be another. He was the true spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
Tom Jones said: “To my dear Richard, You’re a true original, you broke all the rules and you weren’t afraid to show it. A magnificent talent and an inspiration.”
Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson added: “I’m sorry to hear about Little Richard. He was there at the beginning and showed us all how to rock and roll. He was such a great talent His music will last forever.”
Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page said: “It was Little Richard’s songs that pioneered rock ‘n’ roll.”
The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Elton John, David Bowie, Prince and AC/DC all told how Little Richard’s music shaped them. Elton John once said: “I heard Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, and that was it… I didn’t ever want to be anything else.”
Born Richard Wayne Penniman in December 1932, Little Richard grew up in Macon, Georgia.
He was one of 12 children and raised around his uncles who were preachers. The singer said of his upbringing: “I was born in the slums. My daddy sold bootleg whisky.”
But while singing in church his father, Bud, grew opposed to his love of music at one point accusing him of being gay. It led to him leaving home at 13 and being taken in by a white family. The move did not kill his love of music as he and childhood friend Otis Redding tried to pursue their dreams. But success was hard to find.
His first break came after singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe overheard him singing before one of her shows at the Macon City Auditorium in 1947 and asked him to open for her.
After winning a local talent contest in 1951, he signed his first record deal with RCA, already performing under the name Little Richard after growing tired of people mispronouncing his surname.
He struggled on for several years until his breakthrough came when he signed to Speciality Records four years later, going on to release a run of singles that made him a name on both sides of the Atlantic.
His songs were infused with fervent shrieks, flamboyant garb and gender-bending persona. After moving to California, Little Richard managed to bring whites and blacks together in an era of segregation.
He once said: “Tutti Frutti really started the races being together. From the git-go, my music was accepted by whites.”
But at the height of his fame in 1957, Little Richard gave up music. He took the combination of seeing a fireball, actually the Sputnik 1 satellite, crossing the sky while in Australia and a dream about the end of the world as signs from God to stop.
He returned to the church, attending the Alabama Bible school Oakwood College, where he was eventually ordained a minister.
Two years later, though, he returned to music, but his hopes for gospel success were short-lived and
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