Little Richard is America’s original and best wild child within rock and roll. Born Richard Wayne Penniman in 1935, Little Richard had his very first taste of everything showbiz when he sang with the church choir.
He was only 16 years of age when he recorded and made his first song. He was signed with RCA Records in Atlanta and began laying down tracks. He had no success with the record label or the songs he had made, but that was only the beginning.
Eventually, he signed with Specialty, which was just becoming a huge label at that time and he never looked back. He had hits such as “Long Tall Sally”, Rip It Up”, Ready Teddy” and many others. He had hits both in the US and eventually in the UK charts.
In 1957, Little Richard cut his amazing career short by going back into the church and leaving rock and roll behind him for good. There are a few theories and speculative reports as to why he would give up a lucrative career so fast, but they are all rumours. Some people think he was involved in gangland activities and needed to leave rock and roll fast, some others simply believe it was the work of god. Only little Richard knows why he gave up his amazing career so quickly and easily, and it looks like no one else will ever know.
Whatever the reason, rock and roll should just be thankful he was involved at all – he created amazing songs that still pass the test of time.
Tags: church choir, little richard, richard wayne penniman, rock and roll, rock and roll singers, uk charts