Little Richard

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Born:
December 5, 1932, he's 79 and American.
Birthname:
Richard Wayne Penniman.
Snapshot:
An Artist with 131 releases, and credited 11 times on others' music. 16 collaborations.

Biography

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Richard Wayne Penniman, known by the stage-name Little Richard, debuted with one of the most important songs in the history of rock'n'roll with "Tutti Frutti" (1955), which famously started with a shout along the lines of "a-wom-bomp-a-woom-op-a-womp-bam-boom!". It was recently named by the British music magazine Mojo as the single record that changed music more than any other. "Long Tall Sally" and "Rip It Up" were further hits, as were "Keep A Knockin'" and "Good Golly, Miss Molly". Because of "Tutti Frutti" and these other successful songs, Little Richard was often cited by other musicians of the period as one of the biggest influences on their music.

In 1957, at the height of his success, Little Richard quit the music industry and became a born-again Christian. He was ordained as a minister and declared that rock music was the work of the devil. However, he returned to touring and after initially performing only religious music, eventually began playing more and more secular rock'n'roll songs again. After spiralling into drug problems, he had another "re-birth" in the late 70s, and returned to performing gospel and religious music.

Music

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Genres

Christian & Gospel,
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Discography

141 releases – 131 under his own name and 11 credits on others' music Edit
Collaborations, Groups and Family
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Little Richard

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Fans of Little Richard

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Christopher Furlong
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