History Music / LittleRichard

* CoolOldGuy: Even in his eighties he still sounded as good as he did in the 1950s. [[OlderThanTheyLook Not to mention looking damn good for his age.]]

* LastOfHisKind: With the deaths of Music/ChuckBerry and Music/FatsDomino in 2017, Little Richard was, until his death in May 2020, the last of the rock 'n' roll pioneers who was both alive and still performing (Music/JerryLeeLewis is still alive, but he hasn't performed since a stroke in February 2019-- however, he has not officially given up performing, and is undergoing rehab in an attempt to return to the stage), as well as the last black rock star from the pre-[[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] era.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Little Richard's sexual orientation has been debated for more than half a century. The singer himself described himself as gay in some interviews, but has also named himself an "omnisexual" in others, while also going through a notorious phase of very public homophobia in the 1980s as well as near the end of his life. Nevertheless his outrageously effeminate stage presence is part of his public persona and made him a gay icon all the same.

* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: Sang and danced as he played piano with an energy that influenced Music/JamesBrown, Music/MichaelJackson, Music/TheBeatles, Music/TheRollingStones, Music/DavidBowie, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/LouReed,... among others.

* MusicOfNote: You can't talk about rock 'n' roll in the 1950s without mentioning him, Music/ElvisPresley, Music/ChuckBerry, Music/BuddyHolly and/or Music/JerryLeeLewis.

Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), better known as Little Richard, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist who proclaimed himself as "the architect of RockAndRoll". One of the few artists active in TheFifties whose mass popularity approached that of Music/ElvisPresley, Little Richard remains one of the most important figures in the history of rock music, and few would dispute him the title.

* AmbiguouslyGay and/or AmbiguouslyBi: Little Richard's sexual orientation has been debated for more than half a century. The singer himself described himself as gay in some interviews, but has also named himself an "omnisexual" in other interviews, while also going through a notorious phase of very public homophobia in the 1980s. Nevertheless his outrageously effeminate stage presence is part of his public persona and made him a gay icon all the same.

* LastOfHisKind: With the deaths of Music/ChuckBerry and Music/FatsDomino in 2017, Little Richard was, until his death in May 2020, essentially the last of the rock n roll pioneers who was both alive and still performing (Music/JerryLeeLewis is still alive, but he hasn't performed since a stroke in February 2019 - however, he has not officially given up performing, and is undergoing rehab in an attempt to return to the stage).

* SnakeOilSalesman: He worked for a traveling medicine show when he was a teenager. His job was to scream, sing and leap around the stage to attract a crowd and demonstrate the "results" of the stuff the salesman was pushing.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he mounted several comeback attempts on a variety of labels, including Vee-Jay (with whom he had the hit "I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)", featuring the guitar playing of an obscure young session musician called Music/JimiHendrix), Modern, [[Creator/OkehRecords Okeh]] and [[Creator/RepriseRecords Reprise]], though many of his efforts were just re-recordings of his Specialty hits. While performing in Hamburg, Germany, Music/TheBeatles were his opening act.

->''A whop bop-a-lu bop a whop bam boom!''

* AmbiguouslyGay and/or AmbiguouslyBi: Little Richard's sexual orientation has been debated for more than half a century. The singer himself has described himself as gay in some interviews, but has also named himself an "omnisexual" in other interviews, while also going through a notorious phase of very public homophobia in the 1980s. Nevertheless his outrageously effeminate stage presence is part of his public persona and made him a gay icon all the same.

* LyricalTic: He loves his "Whooooooh!"s and "Ah Hoooooooo!"s.
** He also elongates his "i"s into a falsetto. [[Music/{{Aerosmith}} Steven Tyler]] seems to have borrowed this from him.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Sure, he got cosmetic surgery, but [[http://www.bing.com/getimage?q=FCLB_9c91b5bb-327f-36c5-cd5f-9d2b55aafd48_2&wf=Genimage it seemed to have gone well.]] He pretty much ''defines'' this trope. You would need to see his birth certificate to be convinced he was in his ''mid-eighties.''

** On ''Music/FreakOut'' Music/FrankZappa mentions in the liner notes that ''Wowie Zowie'' is a song Little Richard likes. The singer obviously never heard Zappa's album, by the way.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he mounted several comeback attempts on a variety of labels, including Vee-Jay (with whom he had the hit "I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)", featuring the guitar playing of an obscure young session musician called Music/JimiHendrix), Modern, [[Creator/OkehRecords Okeh]] and [[Creator/RepriseRecords Reprise]], though many of his efforts were just re-recordings of his Specialty hits. Eventually, after oscillating between his roles as a reverend and a rocker for nearly 20 years, he reconciled himself to rock and roll in the late 1980s, declaring that it could be used for good as well as evil. Younger audiences might best know him for performing the theme song to the 1994 animated adaptation of ''Literature/TheMagicSchoolBus''.

* CoolOldGuy: He's now in his eighties and still sounds as good as he did in the 1950s. [[OlderThanTheyLook Not to mention the man looks damn good for his age.]]

* IAmTheBand: Little Richard always performs with a band, but he is the star of the show.

* LongRunners: Little Richard started in TheFifties, and is still going strong live to this day.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Sure, he got cosmetic surgery, but [[http://www.bing.com/getimage?q=FCLB_9c91b5bb-327f-36c5-cd5f-9d2b55aafd48_2&wf=Genimage it seemed to have gone well.]] He pretty much ''defines'' this trope. You would need to see his birth certificate to be convinced he's ''85.''

* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: He had a very hard-partying lifestyle in the 1950s, but he obviously stopped later on.

* SnakeOilSalesman: He worked for a travelling medicine show when he was a teenager. His job was to scream, sing and leap around the stage to attract a crowd and demonstrate the "results" of the stuff the salesman was pushing.

* LastOfHisKind: With the deaths of Music/ChuckBerry and Music/FatsDomino in 2017, Little Richard is essentially the last of the rock n roll pioneers who is both alive and still performing (Music/JerryLeeLewis is still alive, but he hasn't performed since a stroke in February 2019 - however, he has not officially given up performing, and is undergoing rehab in an attempt to return to the stage).

Richard Wayne Penniman (better known as Little Richard, born December 5, 1932 in Macon, Georgia) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist who proclaimed himself as "the architect of RockAndRoll". One of the few artists active in TheFifties whose mass popularity approached that of Music/ElvisPresley, Little Richard remains one of the most important figures in the history of rock music, and few would dispute him the title.

[[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/little-richard-dead-48505/ He passed away on May 9th, 2020,]] following a battle with bone cancer. He will be dearly missed.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he mounted several comeback attempts on a variety of labels, including Vee-Jay (with whom he had the hit "I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)", featuring the guitar playing of an obscure young session musician called Music/JimiHendrix), Modern, [[Creator/OkehRecords Okeh]] and [[Creator/RepriseRecords Reprise]], though many of his efforts were just re-recordings of his Specialty hits. Eventually, after oscillating between his roles as a reverend and a rocker for nearly 20 years, he reconciled himself to rock and roll in the late 1980s, declaring that it could be used for good as well as evil.

[[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/little-richard-dead-48505/ He passed away on May 9th, 2020.]]

Richard Wayne Penniman (better known as Little Richard, born 5 December 1932 in Macon, Georgia) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist who proclaims himself as "the architect of RockAndRoll". One of the few artists active in TheFifties whose mass popularity approached that of Music/ElvisPresley, Little Richard remains one of the most important figures in the history of rock music, and few would dispute him the title.

[[LongRunners And he is still going strong to this day.]]

* LastOfHisKind: With the deaths of Music/ChuckBerry and Music/FatsDomino in 2017, Little Richard is essentially the last of the rock n roll pioneers who is still both alive and performing (Music/JerryLeeLewis is still alive, but he hasn't performed since a stroke in February 2019 - however, he has not officially given up performing, and is undergoing rehab in an attempt to return to the stage).

* LastOfHisKind: With the deaths of Music/ChuckBerry and Music/FatsDomino in 2017, Little Richard is essentially the last of the rock n roll pioneers who is still both alive and performing.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he mounted several comeback attempts on a variety of labels, including Vee-Jay (with whom he had the hit "I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)", featuring the guitar playing of an obscure young session musician called Music/JimiHendrix), Modern, [[Creator/OkehRecords Okeh]] and Reprise, though many of his efforts were just re-recordings of his Specialty hits. Eventually, after oscillating between his roles as a reverend and a rocker for nearly 20 years, he reconciled himself to rock and roll in the late 1980s, declaring that it could be used for good as well as evil.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he mounted several comeback attempts on a variety of labels, including Vee-Jay (with whom he had the hit "I Don't Know What You Got (But It's Got Me)", featuring the guitar playing of an obscure young session musician called Music/JimiHendrix), Modern, Okeh and Reprise, though many of his efforts were just re-recordings of his Specialty hits. Eventually, after oscillating between his roles as a reverend and a rocker for nearly 20 years, he reconciled himself to rock and roll in the late 1980s, declaring that it could be used for good as well as evil.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Sure, he got cosmetic surgery, but [[http://www.bing.com/getimage?q=FCLB_9c91b5bb-327f-36c5-cd5f-9d2b55aafd48_2&wf=Genimage it seemed to have gone well.]] He pretty much ''defines'' this trope. You would need to see his birth certificate to be convinced he's ''83.''

'''Richard Wayne Penniman''' (better known as '''Little Richard''', born 5 December 1932 in Macon, Georgia) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist who proclaims himself as "the architect of RockAndRoll". One of the few artists active in TheFifties whose mass popularity approached that of Music/ElvisPresley, Little Richard remains one of the most important figures in the history of rock music, and few would dispute him the title.

* LastOfHisKind: With Music/ChuckBerry's death in 2017 and Music/FatsDomino's retirement in the 80s, Little Richard is essentially the last of the rock n roll pioneers who is still both alive and performing.

->''A whop bop-a-lu a whop bam boom!''

* LongRunners: Little Richard started in 1956, and is still going strong live to this day.