Music1 min(s) read
Published 13:58 09 May 2020 GMT
As first reported by The Rolling Stone, music legend Little Richard has died aged 87.
Little Richard's son, Danny Penniman, confirmed to Rolling Stone that his father had died on Saturday (May 9), but has revealed that the cause of death is still unknown.
The trail-blazing pianist and singer - real name Richard Wayne Penniman - is known for his iconic hits 'Tutti Frutti', 'Good Golly Miss Molly', and 'Long Tall Sally'.
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Per Pitchfork, Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia, and was the second eldest of 12 children. Sadly, he was kicked out of his family home as a teenager and taken in by a white family, who also ran the club where he first performed.
But it wasn't until the mid-1950s that he started to change the face of Rock 'n' Roll. After Little Richard was signed to Specialty Records in 1955, he released a run of wild singles that revolutionized the rock’n’roll era - tracks like 'Rip It Up', 'The Girl Can’t Help It', 'Lucille', and 'Keep A-Knockin’ made him a star on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Little Richard's influence on the music industry is evident - with his songs being covered by the huge names like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Bill Haley.
Per The Guardian, British acts like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, and Lemmy Kilmister all cited Little Richard as an influence on their music and performance style.
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In 2014, AC/DC's then singer Brian Johnson recalled to The Guardian about seeing Little Richard on TV for the first time:
"It was a Saturday, it was one o’clock and it was sunny day. And this woman was going, 'And now, from America, we have Little Richard'. And it was this f**king black guy with this f**king ridiculous hairdo and teeth. He was f**king prettier than a woman. And it was Tutti Frutti.
"What the f**k? There was nothing, and then there was this."
AC/DC's guitarist, Angus Young, also said of Richard: "The way he plays and the way he sings, it’s art and science, everything together."
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In a post on Instagram, Little Richard's band member Kelvin Holly shared his own tribute: "Rest in peace, Richard. This one really stings. My thoughts and prayers go out to all my bandmates and fans all over the world. Richard truly was the king!"
Our thoughts are with his fans, family, and friends at this time.
