Saturday, December 05, 2009

Happy Birthday, Little Richard!

Little Richard: "Richard Wayne Penniman was born December 5, 1932 one of twelve children. His father Charles 'Bud' Penniman was a Seventh Day Adventist preacher who sold moonshine on the side. Richard grew up on a dirt street in an impoverished section of Macon, Georgia. Music was everywhere. Street vendors and evangelist who paraded down his block would sing as loud as they could, whether selling vegetables or religion, to get attention of folks inside. All the neighborhood sang freely as well, improvising on spiritual songs to keep them company as they worked. Some gospel singers, particularly Marion Williams of the Clara Ward singers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Mahalia Jackson had a profound influence on Richard."

6 comments:

Ed Gorman said...

The first time I saw him in person was (I think) 1956 and I was very near the stage. When he appeared and hit the piano it was like a bomb going off. Great show.

Unknown said...

I wish I could've seen him in person in those days. It must have been really something special.

Cap'n Bob said...

Great music, but the guy is really weird. For two other memorable people who share birthdays today, see my blog:
capnbob.blogspot.com

Gerard Saylor said...

Weird is right. One of those instances where weirdness and genius meld.

Anonymous said...

I saw him in the early 1960's.

You can't go wrong with "Tutti Frutti" - as long as it's Richard doing it and not Pat Boone of course!

I also read THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LITTLE RICHARD. His story about taking Buddy Holly to an orgy was a classic.

It seems Buddy was very popular with the ladies due to ...let's say he was blessed by nature.

;)

As an aside I knew I'd love AMERICAN HOT WAX after the opening scene, which featured Alan Freed playing "Tutti Frutti."

Jeff

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