Home » Music » The Rolling Stones » Little Richard

Little Richard

© FactoryGirl

Love him or hate him, Little Richard has been a colorful part of rock'n'roll since the very beginning. Keith Richards has expressed a fondness for the flamboyant "architect of rock." Some might argue that without Little Richard there would have been no Chuck Berry. Without Chuck Berry there would have been no Rolling Stones. It is such endless speculation that emphasizes Little Richard's place in music history.

Richard Wayne Penniman, the third of twelve children, was born in Macon, Georgia. He signed with RCA Records in 1951 after winning a talent contest and released two singles. When the songs went nowhere, he returned to his job washing dishes. A while later Richard sent a demo tape to Specialty Records. This led to a string of hits including Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," "Rip It Up," "Lucille," "Jenny Jenny," "Keep A Knockin'", "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Ooh! My Soul"

At the end of the '60s, Richard left the industry to devote himself to God. In 1985, Richard came back with a memorable appearance in 1985 box-office smash "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," a film which also launched his hit single, "Great Gosh A Mighty." He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Since then, Richard has been making his presence known not only with recordings, but television, films, soundtracks and commercials.

TV guest spots include Full House and Miami Vice. He has also sang with some of today's most popular artists, including Elton John, Tanya Tucker, Philip Bailey and background vocals on the U2/BB King hit single, "When Love Comes to Town."

Richard is also to be seen in TV commercials for Taco Bell, McDonald's, NBC-TV, Commodore/Amiga Computers and Revlon's "Charlie" perfume (with supermodel Cindy Crawford).

Richard's a rock 'n' roll version of the children's tune "Itsy Bitsy Spider" appeared on the Disney Records' benefit album, For Our Children which earned millions for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Disney also released Shake It All About, an entire album of children's songs redone by Richard.

Awards:

Hollywood Walk of Fame
"Little Richard Penniman Boulevard" in Macon, Georgia
Lifetime Achievement Award - National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Pioneer Award - Rhythm & Blues Foundation
Award of Merit - American Music Awards

Little Richard Links:

Little Richard News
Little Richard
Little Richard - Encarta Encyclopedia Article
Little Richard, still playing life large
Best Of Little Richard
Little Richard
Mr. Showbiz Movie Guide: The Little Richard Story

The copyright of the article Little Richard in The Rolling Stones is owned by . Permission to republish Little Richard in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.