Farewell to the ‘Architect of Rock ‘n Roll’

Little Richard, the dynamo of a performer, who combined gospel music with pounding boogie-woogie to create his kind of rock ‘n roll, has succumbed to cancer of the bone. He died in the morning of Saturday, May 9, in his home in Tullahoma, Tennessee. He was 87 years old and thus ended seven decades of what was probably the most ambivalent career in the history of popular music.

According to his biography, Richard was born Richard Penniman on Dec. 5, 1932. He was one of 12 children in a poor family that lived in the slums of Macon, Georgia. There was a time when he was in his early teens when he supported all of them by working as a dishwasher.

Richard had lots of uncles and cousins who were preachers so he grew up immersed in gospel music. He was only 13 years old when he started his music career singing gospel songs. Nothing much happened. One day on a lark, he decided to switch his sound to the fast spreading new type of popular music named rock ‘n roll.

Richard recorded a demo of a novelty tune titled Tutti Frutti named after a popular pink-colored ice cream flavor. He pounded the piano hard and alternately sang and screamed the lyrics. He also added some gibberish “awopbomaloobop, alopbamboo.” Not even Richard knew what the words meant but the kids loved the song and in literally, almost an instant, Little Richard had become a star. The event was also hailed as the beginning of rock ‘n roll, loud and owning its own frenetic beat.

Richard also proved to be a real showman from the onset. He pouffed his hair into a tall pompadour and wore make-up in the manner of old-time movie stars. He wore ornately decorated coats and shiny satin pants. And he was hyper-energetic and totally outrageous on stage. Aside from howling and growling his lyrics and often shocking audiences, Little Richard also put on frenzied performances wherein he jumped and slid and rolled and literally pumped the piano almost to bits.

The hit songs came one after another and soon his name was being mentioned in the same breath as the big stars of the time like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Bill Haley and his comets. Little Richard followed Tutti Frutti with Long Tall Sally, Rip It Up, Good Golly Miss Molly, Whole Lotta Shaking Going’ On, Reddy Teddy, Slippin’ and Slidin’, Lucille, The Girl Can’t Help It and others.

Little Richard’s hits were so big and so influential that many pop stars took to recording covers of his songs. Presley and Pat Boone both had hits with Tutti Frutti. Presley also did Reddy Teddy, The Beatles had Long Tall Sally and Lucille, which was also covered by Deep Purple, Creedence Clearwater Revival had Good Golly Miss Molly, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band also had Long Tall Sally and many more.

Little Richard was so successful that he was nicknamed The Architect of Rock ‘n Roll. But while the going was very good, he was never able to forget his gospel beginnings. He left rock ‘n roll in 1962 to become a Christian minister and recorded some religious songs. This respite from what he called worldly world did not last long and he was soon persuaded to return to performing.

No big hits came along during this period but he was already so well-admired and his contribution to popular music already considered legendary that he continued to command huge turnouts in his gigs. He continued to do so even after hip replacement surgery kept him from slipping and sliding on his piano. No matter, his fans loved him just the same.

Little Richard was one of the first inductees into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame and was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was conferred many other honors, but his greatest accomplishment was breaking the ground for black Americans in the field of rock music. Although rooted in rhythm and blues, rock ‘n roll was considered a “white man’s” music during its beginnings. But then the onslaught of Little Richard came along. He proved to be so irresistible that he changed the sound of popular music forever.