On This Day…14 September
If you love music, then you’ll know that American Little Richard is one of the greatest pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll music. On this day, way back in 1955, he recorded his first big hit, Tutti Frutti, at J & M Studio in New Orleans, Louisiana, with the iconic opening line: “A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-lop-bam-boom”.
Born Richard Wayne Penniman on 5 December 1932, he went on to have further hits with Long Tall Sally, Rip it Up, Lucille and Good Golly Miss Molly. Little Richard was a huge influence on the likes of The Beatles, Elvis and James Brown, amongst others.
Little Richard himself was influenced by gospel and blues music, but left music behind in 1957 to become and evangelist, before returning in 1962, performing a headline tour with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as the supporting artists.
In 1986 he was inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame and died aged 87 in May 2020.
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