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Home , Art Rupe, Little Richard, Long Tall Sally

Biography (1932–2020)

Known for his flamboyant performances, Little Richard's hit from the mid- were defining moments in the development of rock ‘n’ roll.

Who Was Little Richard? Little Richard helped define the early rock ‘n’ roll era of the 1950s with his driving, flamboyant sound. With his croons (to croon = roucouler), wails (gémissements) and screams (cris), he turned songs like “Tutti Frutti” and “” into huge hits and influenced such bands as .

Early Years Born Richard Wayne Penniman on December 5, 1932, in Macon, , Little Richard was the third of 12 children. His father, Bud, was a stern (sévère) man who made his living selling (alcool de contrebande) and didn’t do much to hide his disdain for his son’s early signs of homosexuality. At the age of 13 Richard was ordered to move out of the family home, and his relationship with his father was never repaired. When Richard was 19, his father was shot dead outside a local bar. The childhood that Richard did manage to have was largely shaped by the church. Two of his uncles, as well as his grandfather, were preachers (prédicateurs, pasteurs), and Richard was involved with the church as much as anyone in his family, singing gospel and eventually learning to play the . Upon moving out of his family’s home, Richard was taken in by a white family who owned a club in Macon, where Richard began performing and honing(perfectioner) his talent. In 1951 Richard caught his first major break when a performance at an radio station yielded (to yield = aboutir, produire) a record (enregistrement)contract with RCA. But with a repertoire of mainly mild (doux) numbers that masked the searing (brûlant) vocals and piano that would come to define his , Richard’s career failed to take off as he'd hoped it would.

Commercial Success In 1955 Richard hooked up (sortir avec qqn) with producer , who’d been hunting for a piano-pounding frontman (chanteur) to lead a group of musicians in . In September, Richard stepped into the with “Tutti Frutti,” an instant Billboard (panneau d’affichage) hit that reached No. 17. Over the next year and a half, the musician churned out (pondre, sortir) several more rock hits, including “Long Tall Sally,” “Good Golly Miss Molly” and “Send Me Some Lovin’.” With his blood-pumping piano playing and suggestive lyrics (paroles), Little Richard, along with the likes of and , established rock as a real musical form and inspired others, most notably the Beatles, to make a go of it. In addition to his records, Little Richard appeared in several early rock films, such as Don’t Knock the Rock (1956), The Girl Can’t Help It (1957) and Mister Rock ‘n’ Roll (1957).

Gospel Music and Return to Rock But as his success soared(monter en flèch), Little Richard, fueled (attisé) by his earlier connections to the church, saw his doubts about rock deepen (approfondir). At the very peak of his fame (1957), however, he concluded that was the Devil’s work. He abandoned the music business, enrolled in Bible college, and became a traveling Evangelical preacher. He recorded his debut religious , God Is Real, in 1959. When the Beatles skyrocketed (monter en flèche) onto the music scene in 1964, they sang several of his classic songs and openly acknowledged (reconnaître) their debt to their great forebear (ancêtre). This renewed attention inspired Little Richard to return to the stage and the recording studio for another shot at stardom. Although a new , “Bama Lama Bama Loo” (1964), invoked the fun and vitality of his heyday (apogée), record-buying youngsters (les jeunes) were not impressed. A major recording contract in the early produced three —The Rill Thing, King of Rock ’n’ Roll, and Second Coming—collections that showed Little Richard in fine voice but somewhat out of his element in the hard rock styles of the period.

Little Richard continued to appear at concerts and festivals until 2013, when he announced his retirement. In his increasingly rare TV appearances, his madcap (fou) mannerisms, so threatening to parents in the 1950s, had come to seem amusingly safe. Having weathered (avoir survécu) a career marked by extraordinary changes in direction, Little Richard survived not only as the self-proclaimed “architect of rock and roll” but also as a living treasure of 20th- century American culture. He was one of the greatest musical influences on Paul McCartney and . According to producer Nile Rodgers, Richard was the initial inspiration for Bowie's biggest ever album, "Let's Dance" (1983). Bowie once said: "When I heard Little Richard, it just set my world on fire". was a member of one of his touring bands, before Hendrix launched his solo career.

Awards and Honors In 1986 Little Richard was one of the 10 original inductees (intonisé) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 1993, and a year later the & Blues Foundation honored him with its prestigious Pioneer Award. In later years, the once-dynamic performer retreated from the concert stage (la scène). He fell ill during a show in Washington, D.C., during the summer of 2012. The following September, Little Richard suffered a heart attack. He described the incident during an interview in Atlanta: "The other night, I didn’t know I was having a heart attack. I was coughing (tousser), and my right arm was aching (douloureux).' The singer took baby aspirin, which his doctor credited with saving his life. The deeply religious music icon attributed his survival to a higher power: "Jesus had something for me. He brought me through."

Death Little Richard's agent confirmed that the singer passed away on May 9, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee from bone cancer.

Here two links, just for the pleasure, listen to this famous hit Little Richard performs "Tutti Frutti" at the 1995 Concert for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSx91WBQLpg Have a look at those two rock and roll dancers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqL_pinZVp8&list=RDTqL_pinZVp8&start_radio=1&t=70

TUTTI FRUTTI LYRICS

[Chorus] Whop bop b-luma b-lop bam bom [Verse 2] Tutti frutti, oh Rudy I got a girl named Daisy Tutti frutti, oh Rudy She almost drives me crazy Tutti frutti, oh Rudy I got a girl named Daisy Tutti frutti, oh Rudy She almost drives me crazy Tutti frutti, oh Rudy She knows how to love me, yes A whop bop b-luma b-lop bam bom indeed Boy, you don't know what you do [Verse 1] to me I got a girl named Sue She knows just what to do [Chorus] I got a girl named Sue Tutti frutti, oh Rudy She knows just what to do Tutti frutti, oh Rudy She rocks to the east Tutti frutti, oh Rudy She rocks to the west Tutti frutti, oh Rudy But she's the girl that I love best Tutti frutti, oh Rudy Whop bop-b-luma [Chorus] Tutti frutti, oh Rudy [Verse 3] idem [Verse 2] Tutti frutti, oh Rudy

Tutti frutti, oh Rudy Tutti frutti, oh Rudy Tutti frutti, oh Rudy A whop bop-b-luma b-lop bam bom