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Little Richard

File:Little_Richard_1957_(crop).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Little Richard

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Also known as Richard Wayne Penniman, Richard, Richard Penniman

American musician (1932–2020)

OverviewAI-generated

Richard Wayne Penniman, known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and priest. Born in Macon, Georgia, on December 5, 1932, he was a male tenor who performed in genres including rock and roll, soul, gospel music, rhythm and blues, funk, and pop. His career began in 1951, and he recorded for labels such as Brunswick Records, Specialty, Mercury Records, and Vee-Jay Records.

Penniman received several awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 9, 2020.

Synthesized by Vinony from 35 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

Macon, Georgia, USA

Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 - May 9, 2020), better known as Little Richard, was a flamboyant and groundbreaking American singer, songwriter and musician. Little Richard was a pioneering influence on the birth of Rock 'n' Roll.

Known for

  • Beatles '64 — Self (archive footage)2024
  • No Hamburg, No Beatles — Self (archive footage)2024
  • Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock 'n' Roll — Self (Archival Footage)2023
  • Little Richard: I Am Everything — Self (archive footage)2023
  • Revival69: The Concert That Rocked the World — Self (archive footage)2023
  • Piano Greats at the BBC — Self (archive footage)2022
  • Freddie Mercury: The Final Act — Self (archive footage)2022
  • McCartney 3, 2, 1 — Self (archive footage)2021
  • 70 Years of Youth Revolt — Self (archive footage)2020
  • Basketball: A Love Story — Self (archive footage)2018

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Male
Origin
United States
Active from
1932
Active to
2020
funknew orleans r&bpopr&brhythm & bluesrock

Discography

Member of

DiscogsStream

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
1,005,337
Total plays
10,213,740

Tags

Rock and Rollrock n rollrockabillyrockoldies

Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), better known by his stage name Little Richard, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He was a prominent figure in popular music for more than seven decades and is often associated with the early development of rock and roll. Much of his most influential work dates from the mid-1950s, when his energetic performances and music, characterised by fast-paced piano playing, a strong backbeat, and powerful raspy vocals, contributed to th

via Last.fm · Little Richard

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Given name
Wayne
Gender
male
Citizenship
United States
Place of birth
Macon
Place of death
Tullahoma
Occupation
musician
Languages spoken
English language
Native language
English language
Award
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Notable work
Lucille
Genre
funk
Instrument
voice
Record label
Manticore Records
Image
Little Richard in 2007 (cropped).jpg
Voice type
tenor
Show 17 more facts
Commons category
Little Richard
date of birth
1932-12-05
Commons gallery
Little Richard
topic's main category
Category:Little Richard
ethnic group
African Americans
sexual orientation
homosexuality
start of work period
1951-00-00
pseudonym
Little Richard
birth name
Richard Wayne Penniman
described at URL
www.kolumbus.fi/timrei/lre.htm
copyright representative
Broadcast Music, Inc.
date of death
2020-05-09
medical condition
myocardial infarction
manner of death
natural causes
name in native language
Richard Penniman
social media followers
1272
end of work period
2020-00-00
Sources (15)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), better known by his stage name Little Richard, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Referred to as the "Architect of Rock and Roll", Richard's most celebrated work dates from the mid-1950s, when his charismatic showmanship and dynamic music, characterized by frenetic piano playing, pounding backbeat and powerful raspy vocals, laid the foundation for rock and roll. Richard's innovative emotive vocalizations and uptempo rhythmic music played a key role in the formation of other popular music genres, including soul and funk. He influenced singers and musicians across musical genres and his music helped shape rhythm and blues for generations.

"Tutti Frutti" (1955), one of Richard's signature songs, became an instant hit, crossing over to the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom. His next hit single, "Long Tall Sally" (1956), hit No. 1 on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues Best-Sellers chart, followed by a rapid succession of fifteen more in less than three years. In 1962, after a five-year period during which Richard abandoned rock and roll music for born-again Christianity, concert promoter Don Arden persuaded him to tour Europe. During this time, the Beatles opened for Richard on some tour dates.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Little Richard” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (12)

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