Musician Little Richard poses for a portrait. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives.
School period
College/University
Gallery of Little Richard
906 Oakwood Ave NW, Huntsville, AL 35811, United States
In 1957, Richard left the music business to enroll in Oakwood Theological College (now Oakwood University) in Huntsville, Alabama, with the goal of becoming a minister.
Career
Gallery of Little Richard
1864
Dick Clark (left, with guest Little Richard holding a picture of the Beatles) hosted "American Bandstand," the most popular dance show of all-time and the cornerstone of Walt Disney Television.
Gallery of Little Richard
1956
Musician Little Richard performing onstage in circa 1956.
Gallery of Little Richard
1956
Musician Little Richard poses for a portrait in circa 1956. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives.
Gallery of Little Richard
1956
Musician Little Richard performs onstage. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives.
Gallery of Little Richard
1957
Musician Little Richard performs onstage with his band as his saxophone player Grady Gaines stands on the piano in circa 1957 in a scene from the movie 'Mister Rock And Roll.' Photo by Michael Ochs Archives.
Gallery of Little Richard
1957
Musicians Little Richard (at the piano) and his saxophone player Grady Gaines perform in a scene from the movie "Mister Rock And Roll" which was released in 1957. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives.
Gallery of Little Richard
1962
Jet Harris, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Sam Cooke - posed, backstage on Little Richard package tour, 1962. Photo by Harry Hammond.
Gallery of Little Richard
1962
American rock 'n' roll singer Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman), famous for the hits 'Tutti Frutti', 'Good Golly Miss Molly', 'Long Tall Sally', amongst others.
Gallery of Little Richard
1967
American rock'n'roll legend Little Richard performs at a television studio. Photo by Baron Wolman.
Gallery of Little Richard
1970
Los Angeles, California, United States
Little Richard and Tom Jones performs on "This Is Tom Jones" TV show.
Gallery of Little Richard
1970
Los Angeles, California, United States
Little Richard performs on "This Is Tom Jones" TV show. Photo by Donaldson Collection
Gallery of Little Richard
1970
Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States
Songwriter and producer Rick Hall (right) Manager, songwriter and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell (middle) and Rock 'N' Roll pioneer Little Richard (left) pose for a portrait at FAME Studios in 1970 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Gallery of Little Richard
1972
London, Wembley HA9 0WS, United Kingdom
Singer Little Richard making a peace sign and wearing an outlandish outfit as he prepares to perform at Wembley Stadium. Photo by Rosemary Matthews.
Gallery of Little Richard
1974
Los Angeles, CA, United States
From left to right, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder's mother Lula Mae Hardaway, Stevie Wonder, and Chuck Berry at the Grammy Awards in Hollywood. Photo by Frank Edwards.
Gallery of Little Richard
1975
45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111, United States
Rock and roll legend Little Richard backstage before a performance in October 1975 at Rockefeller Center. Photo by David Gahr.
Gallery of Little Richard
1988
New York City, NY, United States
Little Richard at the 1988 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Gallery of Little Richard
1988
American Rock Singer Little Richard At 1988 Oscars Ceremony.
Gallery of Little Richard
1990
Hollywood, California, United States
Musician Little Richard attends People For The American Way Benefit Party Hosted by Peter Max on August 29, 1990, at AM Records. Photo by Ron Galella.
Gallery of Little Richard
1991
Antwerpen,Belgium
Little Richard, Diamond Awards Festival. Photo by Gie Knaeps.
Gallery of Little Richard
1992
Antwerpen,Belgium
Little Richard, Diamond Awards Festival, Sportpaleis. Photo by Gie Knaeps.
Gallery of Little Richard
2006
801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ 08401, United States
Little Richard during Little Richard in Concert at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. Photo by Tom Briglia.
Gallery of Little Richard
2006
801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ 08401, United States
Little Richard during Little Richard in Concert at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. Photo by Tom Briglia.
Gallery of Little Richard
2016
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Leon Huff and Kenneth Gamble of musical group Gamble and Huff with musical legend Little Richard during NMAAM's Celebration Of Legends Red Carpet And Luncheon. Photo by Jason Davis.
Gallery of Little Richard
Gallery of Little Richard
Singer Little Richard and actress Linda Gray. Photo by Kevin Winter.
Gallery of Little Richard
American singer-songwriter actor and recording artist Little Richard poses on the piano while touring Europe.
Gallery of Little Richard
London, Wembley HA9 0WS, United Kingdom
Rock'n'roll singer and pianist Little Richard with Screaming Lord Sutch, leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party at Wembley Stadium, London. Sutch wears a parrot on his shoulder. Photo by Keystone.
Gallery of Little Richard
Tina Turner and Little Richard
Gallery of Little Richard
London, Wembley HA9 0WS, United Kingdom
Little Richard, performing live on stage at the London Rock'n'Roll Show. Photo by David Redfern/Redferns.
Gallery of Little Richard
Little Richard
Gallery of Little Richard
Singers Patti LaBelle and Little Richard with actress Whoopi Goldberg. Photo by Time Life Pictures.
Gallery of Little Richard
American musicians Little Richard and Jon Bon Jovi. Photo by Kevin Winter.
Achievements
1990
Lanewood Ave &, N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Musician Little Richard attends Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony Honoring Little Richard on June 21, 1990, at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Photo by Ron Galella.
Membership
Awards
American Music Award of Merit
1996
665 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007, United States
Musician Little Richard attends 24th Annual American Music Awards on January 27, 1996, at the Shrine Auditorium.
NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame
2002
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608, United States
Singer/songwriter Little Richard accepts the Hall of Fame Award at the 33rd Annual NAACP Image Awards Ceremony at Universal Amphitheatre.
Annual BMI Pop Award
2002
Musicians Chuck Berry (L), Little Richard (C) and Bo Diddley attend the 50th Annual BMI Pop Awards May 14, 2002. The trio received the inaugural BMI Icon Award.
Dick Clark (left, with guest Little Richard holding a picture of the Beatles) hosted "American Bandstand," the most popular dance show of all-time and the cornerstone of Walt Disney Television.
Musician Little Richard performs onstage with his band as his saxophone player Grady Gaines stands on the piano in circa 1957 in a scene from the movie 'Mister Rock And Roll.' Photo by Michael Ochs Archives.
Musicians Little Richard (at the piano) and his saxophone player Grady Gaines perform in a scene from the movie "Mister Rock And Roll" which was released in 1957. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives.
American rock 'n' roll singer Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman), famous for the hits 'Tutti Frutti', 'Good Golly Miss Molly', 'Long Tall Sally', amongst others.
Songwriter and producer Rick Hall (right) Manager, songwriter and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell (middle) and Rock 'N' Roll pioneer Little Richard (left) pose for a portrait at FAME Studios in 1970 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
From left to right, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder's mother Lula Mae Hardaway, Stevie Wonder, and Chuck Berry at the Grammy Awards in Hollywood. Photo by Frank Edwards.
Lanewood Ave &, N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Musician Little Richard attends Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony Honoring Little Richard on June 21, 1990, at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Photo by Ron Galella.
Musicians Chuck Berry (L), Little Richard (C) and Bo Diddley attend the 50th Annual BMI Pop Awards May 14, 2002. The trio received the inaugural BMI Icon Award.
Leon Huff and Kenneth Gamble of musical group Gamble and Huff with musical legend Little Richard during NMAAM's Celebration Of Legends Red Carpet And Luncheon. Photo by Jason Davis.
Rock'n'roll singer and pianist Little Richard with Screaming Lord Sutch, leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party at Wembley Stadium, London. Sutch wears a parrot on his shoulder. Photo by Keystone.
906 Oakwood Ave NW, Huntsville, AL 35811, United States
In 1957, Richard left the music business to enroll in Oakwood Theological College (now Oakwood University) in Huntsville, Alabama, with the goal of becoming a minister.
Richard Wayne Penniman, known as Little Richard, is an American musician, singer, actor, comedian, and songwriter. Known for his flamboyant performances, Little Richard's hit songs from the mid-1950s were defining moments in the development of rock 'n' roll.
Background
Little Richard was born Richard Wayne Penniman on December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia, United States. He was the third of twelve children of Leva Mae Stewart and Charles "Bud" Penniman. His father was a church deacon who sold bootlegged moonshine on the side and owned a nightclub, the Tip In Inn. His mother was a member of Macon's New Hope Baptist Church. Richard was one of twelve children.
In childhood, he was nicknamed "Lil' Richard" by his family, because of his small and skinny frame.
Education
Little Richard attended Macon's Ballard-Hudson High School, where he was a below-average student. His musical talent, however, was recognized there when he learned to play the alto saxophone. His mother recalled how Richard was "always musical" and that when he was young, he would always "beat on the steps of the house, and on tin cans and pots and pans, or whatever" while singing. She also recalled that Richard was so quick at learning to play the saxophone, that he was allowed to play with the school's marching band immediately. While in high school, Little Richard obtained a part-time job at Macon City Auditorium for local secular and gospel concert promoter Clint Brantley.
In 1957, Richard left the music business to enroll in Oakwood Theological College (now Oakwood University) in Huntsville, Alabama, with the goal of becoming a minister.
Little Richard is a rock and roll pioneer in every sense of the word. Rock's first certified zany, he brought outlandish clothes and hairstyles to the national stage for the first time, astonishing 1956 audiences with his brazen sexual campiness. Mere stage appeal does not account for Richard's wide cross-racial appeal, however. From the scat-singing prologue of "Tutti-Frutti" to his favorite expression, "Ooh, my soul!" Richard brought a new level of intensity-an unlikely pastiche of gospel and sexual innuendo-to popular music. Nor did Richard's influence end with the first generation of rockers. Many groups of the British Invasion, including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, also looked to him as a mentor.
As early as 1951 Richard cut his first recordings, having won a rhythm and blues talent contest at Atlanta's Eighty-One Theatre. The songs, "Get Rich Quick," "Why Did You Leave Me," "Every Hour," and "Thinkin' 'bout My Mother," did not sell. Optimistically, Richard recorded four more sides of the same blues/boogie-type material, and it likewise failed. He returned to Macon with his band, the Upsetters, and half-heartedly sent a demo tape to Art Rupe of Specialty Records in Los Angeles. That tape languished at Specialty for almost a year, during which time Richard garnished his live act with various outrageous spectacles. Rupe, it turned out, was looking for another black singer with a Ray Charles sound, and eventually, Richard's tape came to him for review. He invited the young rocker to cut some songs in New Orleans. At first, Richard began taping the same kind of blues-oriented songs he had been recording, but during a break, he launched into a raucous song of his own invention, "Tutti Frutti," that contained the memorable line "Wop-Bop-A-Loo-Bop, A-Lop-Bam-Boom." Rupe was captivated. He ordered new lyrics (to replace Richard's frankly sexual ones) and released the song just before Christmas in 1955. It was resting at number 21 on the charts by the end of December. Even though Richard sometimes had to watch other performers (like Pat Boone) score with his material, he did not lack for top hits himself. Backed by the best studio musicians and his own inimitably vigorous piano playing, Richard soon had chart-toppers with "Long Tall Sally," "Rip It Up," "Slippin' and Slidin'," "Lucille," "The Girl Can't Help It," "Jenny, Jenny," and "Good Golly, Miss Molly."
In 1957 Richard vowed never to sing rock 'n' roll again-some say an airplane malfunction frightened him into a conversion; another story has it that he interpreted the Soviet launching of Sputnik as a sign that rock and roll was evil and that he should quit performing. The Bible studies did not occupy Richard too long, though. By early 1966 he was back on tour, this time in England with an unknown group called the Beatles. By his account in Rolling Stone, Richard not only taught his musical British admirers some of his falsetto voice stunts and riffs, but he also had an opportunity to buy a 50 percent share of the group. For roughly twelve years Richard performed his old hits and-less successfully-new material to audiences hungry for classic rock. He has had no trouble lining up engagements, even though he no longer decks himself in mirror-studded jackets, eyeliner, and tie-dyed headbands. Had he never taken the stage again, he would still have enjoyed a prominent place in the pantheon of rock 'n' roll legends.
Little Richard's acceptance in 1993 of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award was tainted slightly by his voiced displeasure at his award being presented before the actual telecast. The standing ovation he received upon his introduction to the crowd testified to his continued popularity.
In recent years, the once-dynamic performer has taken a break from the concert stage. He fell ill during a show in Washington, D.C., during the summer of 2012. The following September, Little Richard suffered a heart attack. He described the incident to Cee Lo Green during an interview in Atlanta: "The other night, I didn’t know I was having a heart attack. I was coughing, and my right arm was aching."
In the hope of curing his physical ailment and curbing his behavior, Richard's mother enrolled him in a charismatic Baptist church in Macon. There, at the age of ten, he started a gospel group called the Tiny Tots Quartet. This experience filled him with the desire to be a professional gospel singer. Richard's religious fervor was not lasting, however. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade and joined a traveling medicine show.
Little Richard made good on his promise, enrolling in an Alabama theological college to become a Seventh Day Adventist minister, but not before Specialty convinced him to lay down a few more tracks at the studio.
From these sessions came some of Richard’s most memorable songs: Good Golly, Miss Molly (a Top-10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic), Ooh! My Soul/True Fine Mama, Baby Face and more.
Little Richard focused on his ministry for several years, recording gospel tunes and such, but for a man this comfortable in the spotlight, a comeback was inevitable.
Little Richard renounced his strict religion early in 1988 and began to perform again, in a more subdued manner. He has had no trouble lining up engagements, even though he no longer decks himself in mirror-studded jackets, eyeliner, and tie-dyed headbands. Richard found pleasure in his biblical studies, becoming attracted to the idea of praising God through music. He believed he found peace with God, and that he should live as God intended him to. He also believed that he faced "devils" while there, too: he was caught asking a deacon's son to expose himself and resented his "unnatural affections" that led him to hate who he was.
Politics
In 1993, Little Richard performed at the inauguration of Bill Clinton.
Views
Quotations:
"The boys would want to fight me because I didn't like to be with them. I wanted to play with the girls. See I felt like a girl."
"Gay people are the sweetest, kindest, most artistic, warmest and most thoughtful people in the world. And since the beginning of time, all they've ever been is kicked."
"And I don't get down on nobody else for doing whatever else they do. To each his own."
"And I think a woman should find it a joy to be female because God made both male and female."
"And I'd like to give my love to everybody, and let them know that the grass may look greener on the other side, but believe me, it's just as hard to cut."
"But men are so full of greed today, they'll sell anything for a little piece of money."
"But I was singing loud, and most singers weren't singing loud."
"But when I went on the stage to do a show, I would put on makeup because I felt that it enhanced my act; it drew attention to what I was doing."
"God gives us the ability, but rock 'n' roll was created by men."
"I also think that what's wrong with all of us is that we don't show enough love toward each other."
"I also think that what's wrong with all of us is that we don't show enough love toward each other."
"I always knew I was a man, always felt that I was a man, always wanted to be a man."
"I love God, and I'm a follower."
"I think people who don't believe in God are crazy. How can you say there is no God when you hear the birds singing these beautiful songs you didn't make?"
"I've never gotten money from most of those records. And I made those records: In the studio, they'd just give me a bunch of words, I'd make up a song! The rhythm and everything. 'Good Golly Miss Molly'! And I didn't get a dime for it."
"I do remember how it was to be poor. I do remember that in my early years, we had to grow and raise all of our food, even our animals. "And I remember in my early life, we didn't even have electricity. So it was very, very hard times then."
I'm not happy all the time, and I wouldn't want to be because that would make me a shallow person. But I do try to find the good in everybody."
"People make jokes about my bosoms, why don't they look underneath the breasts at the heart? It's obvious I've got big ones and if people want to assume they're not mine, then let them."
"I think every entertainer's had nights when things go wrong. I mean you can't remember everything all the time, and especially if you're having hard times personally, things going on that you - you know, and then people make it worse. And that makes you feel worse."
"I think I've got my business notions and my sense for that sort of thing from my dad. My dad never had a chance to go to school. He couldn't read and write. But he was so smart. He was just one of those people that could just make the most of anything and everything that he had to work with."
"God is omnipotent, He is omniscient, and He is ever-present."
"Elvis may be the King of Rock and Roll, but I am the Queen."
"I think God made a woman to be strong and not to be trampled under the feet of men. I've always felt this way because my mother was a very strong woman, without a husband."
"My true belief about Rock 'n' Roll - and there have been a lot of phrases attributed to me over the years - is this: I believe this kind of music is demonic... A lot of the beats in music today are taken from voodoo, from the voodoo drums. If you study music in rhythms, like I have, you'll see that is true. I believe that kind of music is driving people from Christ. It is contagious."
Personality
From a young age, Richard said he always felt feminine, wearing his mother's makeup and clothes, before getting kicked out of the house at age 15 by his deacon father. He began performing at different venues around Atlanta and began traveling what became known as the Chitlin' Circuit - a number of performance venues throughout the South that were safe and acceptable for black musicians, comedians, and other entertainers to perform in during the segregation era.
Richard pounds the piano, scats out some vocals, the weak of heart faint, the old women scold, and the only thing the sundress-&-white-gloves-wearing, fan-carrying bastions of middle-class Americana can think to say are words like "Well, I never," and "Land sakes!."
There was never anything ‘little’ about Little Richard - the hair was huge, the performances were grandiose, and the character was most definitely larger than life.
Little Richard’s music was monumentally important to the early years of rock and roll, but just as important to the future of rock was Richard's irrepressible personality, the kind of flamboyant rock diva that some would label a menace to society, while others would hail as a living legend.
Questions of Little Richard's sexuality have come up several times throughout his life, and his answers vary. In a 1995 interview, he claimed he's been "gay all my life," but a decade later, he described himself as "omnisexual," saying, "Sex to me is like a smorgasbord. Whatever I feel like, I go for." His devotion to God and the church played a part in his struggle with his sexual identity.
Physical Characteristics:
Richard was the third of twelve children, and the only child in his family with a physical defect-his right leg is shorter than his left.
Quotes from others about the person
"He claims to be "the architect of rock and roll", and history would seem to bear out Little Richard's boast. More than any other performer - save, perhaps, Elvis Presley, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. On record, he made spine-tingling rock and roll. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally" and "Good Golly, Miss Molly" defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll." - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
"When I heard Little Richard, I mean, it just set my world on fire." - David Bowie
"When Little Richard used to stand up and play it was just fabulous, and Liberace had the candlesticks and the rings and the gift of the gab. The piano is the most ungainly rock' n' roll instrument of all time but those two people transcended it, as did Jerry Lee Lewis." - Elton John
"I heard Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, and that was it. I didn't ever want to be anything else. I just started banging away and semi-studied classical music at the Royal Academy of Music but sort of half-heartedly." - Elton John
"Plus, you know, when I was young, there was a lot of respect for clowning in rock music - look at Little Richard. It was a part of the whole thing, and I always also believed that it released the audience." - Bruce Springsteen
"I had a handful of records, but when I was 11 years old, I liked Puccini as much as Little Richard. They both made sense to me." - Patti Smith
"I plug into a lot of old rock & roll. Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis - I love all that stuff." - Angus Young
"The Beatles did whatever they wanted. They were a collection of influences adapted to songs they wanted to write. George Harrison was instrumental in bringing in Indian music. Paul McCartney was a huge Little Richard fan. John Lennon was into minimalist aggressive rock." - Chris Cornell
"I've always been a fan of melody and emotional melancholy, whether it was Rites of Spring or Tears for Fears or Neil Young. If I hear a song that has a sweet melody, I'm a sucker for it, whether it's Linkin Park or Little Richard." - Dave Grohl
"I wanted to be a farmer; actually, I wanted to be a horse-breeder. And I had the stallions... but then I heard Little Richard, and that was it." - Lemmy
"Prince got some Marvin Gaye and Jimi Hendrix and Sly in him, also, even Little Richard. He's a mixture of all those guys and Duke Ellington." - Miles Davis
"I'm in awe of people like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard; they're great musicians and people. But I'm most starstruck by people in the small town where I live. Especially single dads, like me, who are working five times as hard to raise their kids." - Kid Rock
"Hendrix was the bass player for Little Richard. We were both left-handed, but we would use a right-handed guitar held upside down and backward. He developed my slides and my riffs. In fact, he used to say, and this is documented, 'I patterned my style after Dick Dale.'" - Dick Dale
"When people say Jerry Lee Lewis invented rock n' roll, they forget Little Richard. People talk about Elvis Presley and forget he was singing black music. I don't blame Elvis. It was the music business figuring it could make more money from this music if it weren't presented from the original source." - Ato Essandoh
"My love for American music and American movies is from an early age. I was 10 or 11 when I heard Fats Domino and Little Richard and Buddy Holly. And the movies, my dad used to take my brother and me to the movies every Friday. It was incredible: we got to see just about every movie that came out for a period of years." - Ian McLagan
Interests
Politicians
Bill Clinton
Sport & Clubs
Basketball
Athletes
Carl Lewis, Mary Lou Retton, Michael Jordan
Music & Bands
Brother Joe May, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mahalia Jackson, Marion Williams, Elvis Presley
Connections
Little Richard met his only wife, Ernestine Campbell, at an evangelical rally in October 1957. They began dating that year and wed in July 1959. According to Campbell, she and Little Richard initially enjoyed a happy marriage with "normal" sexual relations.
Campbell claimed when the marriage ended in divorce in 1963, it was due to Little Richard's celebrity status, noting that it had made life difficult for her. Little Richard claimed the marriage fell apart due to him being a neglectful husband and his sexuality. Richard claimed that neither Robinson nor Campbell thought he was gay because he was "such a pumper in those days." While married, in 1962, Little Richard adopted a one-year-old boy, Danny Jones, from a late church associate. Little Richard and his son remain close, with Jones often acting as one of his bodyguards.