Pioneering Rock ‘n’ Roll musician Little Richard has sadly died at the age of 87.
Born as Richard Wayne Penniman in 1932, he was a cited influence by Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Elton John with hits including 1955’s ‘Tutti Frutti’ that featured the classic line, ‘A wop bop alu bop, a wop bam boom!’, and ‘Long Tall Sally’ from 1956.
Tributes have been pouring in across social media. Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger tweeted that when the band toured with him, he ‘would watch [Little Richard’s] moves every night and learn from him how to entertain and involve the audience’. Bob Dylan shared similar sentiments, tweeting that Little Richard was his ‘shining star and guiding light back when [Dylan] was only a little boy. He was the original spirit that moved [him]to do everything [he]would do.’
Little Richard died of bone cancer in Tullahoma, Tennessee his family said. His influence has helped shaped the music industry as we know it, and will undoubtedly continue to do so in the future.
Listen to ‘Tutti Frutti’ below:
