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Little Richard

May 15, 2014 by strictlyrock Leave a Comment

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Richard Wayne Penniman was born on December 5th, 1932 in Macon, Georgia. Richard had 11 siblings and his family was very religious. Making use of their large family, the Penninmans performed as the Penniman Singers at local churches. He initially wanted to be a preacher, but performing in church is where Richard took his first steps down a path that would later allow him to claim himself “the architect of Rock and Roll,” without being disputed.

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“Little Richard” began his recording career with RCA Victor in 1951 and moved on to Peacock Records in 1953. The next year Richard recorded a demo and was soon signed to Specialty Records in 1955. At Specialty, he would be assisted by producer Robert “Bumps” Blackwell, who had worked with other famous black musicians such as Ray Charles. In September of 1955 Richard began recording in New Orleans, where he would secure his position in music history.

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Richard’s New Orleans session produced what is undoubtedly his most famous song, “Tutti Frutti,” among many others. The song became a hit on the R&B charts and soon crossed over to the pop charts. “Tutti Frutti was later covered by Pat Boone and Elvis Presley and paved the way for a slew of other hits including “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’,” which helped define the genre of Rock and Roll as it is known today.

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Despite becoming extremely famous, Little Richard’s religious beliefs were still very important to him. On October 1st, 1957 Richard left Rock and Roll behind to pursue his faith, enrolling in a religious college. In 1959 Richard released “Little Richard Sings Gospel” which would be the first of many religious themed musical endeavors. In 1962 however, Richard returned to Rock music, sharing a gig with the Beatles in England. During the rest of the 1960’s Richard played with various artists including a not yet famous Jimi Hendrix.

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In 1970 Richard returned to religious college eventually earning a Bachelors of Arts degree and became an ordained minister. Throughout the 1970’s Richard continued to release albums, and by 1980 had overcome drug and alcohol addictions. In 1986 Little Richard was inducted into the (then) brand new Rock and Roll Hall of fame, alongside fellow legends Elvis Presley and Ray Charles. In 1993 Richard received a well-deserved Grammy for Lifetime Achievement. Richard has remained one of music’s most beloved stars and continues to remain popular, appearing in everything from movies to car insurance commercials. As of 2009, Little Richard is alive and well and is currently still performing.

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100 Greatest Rock & Roll Bands

  1. The Beatles
  2. The Rolling Stones
  3. Led Zeppelin
  4. Jimi Hendrix
  5. Elvis Presley
  6. The Who
  7. U2
  8. Pink Floyd
  9. The Doors
  10. The Police
  11. Elton John
  12. Metallica
  13. AC/DC
  14. Van Halen
  15. Nirvana
  16. Guns N' Roses
  17. Santana
  18. The Allman Brothers Band
  19. Bon Jovi
  20. David Bowie
  21. Grateful Dead
  22. Rush
  23. Yes
  24. Black Sabbath
  25. Bob Dylan
  26. James Brown
  27. The Beach Boys
  28. Eric Clapton
  29. Fleetwood Mac
  30. The Eagles
  31. Bob Marley
  32. Van Morrison
  33. Bruce Springsteen
  34. The Clash
  35. Queen
  36. Janis Joplin
  37. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
  38. R.E.M.
  39. The Kinks
  40. Steely Dan
  41. Steve Miller Band
  42. Jethro Tull
  43. Tool
  44. The Scorpions
  45. Coldplay
  46. Stone Temple Pilots
  47. Rod Stewart
  48. Marilyn Manson
  49. Creedence Clearwater Revival
  50. KISS
  51. The Pretenders
  52. Green Day
  53. Aerosmith
  54. Tina Turner
  55. Pearl Jam
  56. Ted Nugent
  57. Pantera
  58. Motörhead
  59. Judas Priest
  60. ZZ Top
  61. Megadeth
  62. Motley Crue
  63. Alice Cooper
  64. Def Leppard
  65. Iron Maiden
  66. Billy Idol
  67. Journey
  68. Anthrax
  69. Rage Against the Machine
  70. Blue Oyster Cult
  71. Alice in Chains
  72. Genesis
  73. Red Hot Chili Peppers
  74. Chuck Berry
  75. Buddy Holly
  76. Little Richard
  77. Elvis Costello
  78. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
  79. Sex Pistols
  80. Cream
  81. Frank Zappa
  82. Talking Heads
  83. Stevie Ray Vaughan
  84. Billy Joel
  85. The Band
  86. Ramones
  87. Lynyrd Skynyrd
  88. Jerry Lee Lewis
  89. Doobie Brothers
  90. Foo Fighters
  91. The Cure
  92. Soundgarden
  93. Iggy Pop
  94. Peter Gabriel
  95. The Byrds
  96. Traffic
  97. Deep Purple
  98. Blondie
  99. Velvet Underground
  100. Heart

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