The Beatles, the Stones, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, KISS, Queen, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, RHCP, Van Halen, Ratt, Motley Crue (and basically any other glam rock act), Living Colour, King’s X, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains. The list goes on and on and on and on for all the artists that Little Richard has influenced. He’s the founder, the innovator, the architect. If Elvis was the king, than Little Richard was the creator. His contributions exceed far beyond what he created.
Little Richard was the original glam rocker. He made it okay to be flamboyant, yet strangely masculine. A trope that would bleed into rock, hard rock and metal for the rest of time. And his influence on 80’s hard rock can’t be overstated. In fact, many artists included him on record cuts or music videos. Such as Ratt’s video collection for their fifth album ‘Detonator.’ Or the break in Living Colour’s ‘Elvis Is Dead.’ He was beyond admired and loved. And his infectious energy traveled with him where ever he chose to go.
Little Richard was born Richard Wayne Penniman on Dec 5, 1932 in Macron, Georgia. And as we all know he would go on to experience huge success in the 50’s. Being most active between the years ’57 and ’77. His major hits include, ‘Tutti Frutti,’ ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly,’ (he definitely had a thing for rhyming in song titles) and ‘Long Tall Sally.’ That’s just the tip of the iceberg for the man. The amount of material he released is astonishing. His peak activity was during a time when it wasn’t uncommon for artist to release two albums at year at times.
His legacy will forever live on. It lives on in his work and all the others who came after. His high pitched ‘WHOOS!’ honored by many legends afterwards. He’s the godfather. The truth of Rock ‘N Roll. His presence was other worldly. Almost extraterrestrial. And he will be missed. ‘WHOOOOO!!’
