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Engraved portrait of Little Richard
Music · 1950s

Little Richard

In memoriam 1932–2020

“The flamboyant founding force whose pounding piano and wild howl helped invent rock and roll.”

Richard Wayne PennimanReal Name
December 5, 1932, Macon, GeorgiaBorn
May 9, 2020, Tullahoma, TennesseeDied
Specialty Records (1955)Label
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1986)Honor
The Turning Point

In September 1955, on Lloyd Price's advice, Richard sent a demo to Specialty Records and recorded "Tutti Frutti" in New Orleans in three takes. Released that November, it hit No. 2 on the R&B chart and crossed over to pop, launching him as an architect of rock and roll.

Little Richard in 1957, at the height of his early rock and roll fame
Little Richard in 1957, at the height of his early rock and roll fame

Gospel Roots

Born in Macon, Georgia, in 1932, Richard Penniman was raised among twelve siblings in a deeply religious family. Gospel and church singing shaped his explosive vocal style long before he turned to rhythm and blues.

Little Richard in a 1966 Okeh Records publicity photo
Little Richard in a 1966 Okeh Records publicity photo

Birth of a Sound

His 1955 recording of "Tutti Frutti" fused gospel fervor with raw R&B energy and a pounding piano. A string of 1956-58 hits made him one of rock and roll's founding figures and an influence on the Beatles and beyond.

Little Richard performing in 1988
Little Richard performing in 1988

Faith and Fame

Torn between music and the pulpit, he repeatedly left show business for the ministry before returning. He was an inaugural-era inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a 1993 Grammy Lifetime Achievement honoree.

Career Timeline

  1. 1932Born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia
  2. 1947Sings with traveling shows as a teenager
  3. 1951Makes first jump-blues recordings
  4. 1955Records breakthrough hit "Tutti Frutti" in New Orleans
  5. 1956"Long Tall Sally" and "Rip It Up" top charts
  6. 1957Abandons rock for gospel and the ministry
  7. 1962Returns to secular music touring Europe
  8. 1986Inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  9. 1993Receives Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
  10. 2015"Tutti Frutti" added to National Recording Registry
  11. 2020Dies in Tullahoma, Tennessee, aged 87

Biggest Hits

1955
Tutti FruttiExplosive debut hailed as the birth of rock and roll
1956
Long Tall SallyNo. 1 R&B smash with breakneck energy
1956
Rip It UpTopped the R&B chart that summer
1957
LucilleDriving rocker covered by countless artists
1958
Good Golly, Miss MollySignature high-energy anthem of early rock
1957
Keep A Knockin'Frantic piano romp, a stage favorite
Did You Know
  • He called himself "The Architect of Rock and Roll," a title widely echoed by later stars.
  • The third of twelve children, he grew up steeped in Macon's gospel and church music.

The Moment You Remember

The opening shout of Tutti Frutti, all nonsense syllables and unstoppable momentum, hit popular music like a thunderclap and announced that rock and roll had found one of its loudest, most joyful prophets.

Portrait: Ian Dryden, Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

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