Rock music legend Little Richard, who altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, died on Saturday at the age of 87, his family has confirmed.
Known for his wild, flamboyant performances, Richard Wayne Penniman, who was born in Macon,. Georgia- the second of 12 children, inspired young musicians internationally. Little Richard was kicked out of his family’s home as a teenager and taken in by a white family that ran a nightclub where he first performed. He was most famous for performing songs like “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally,” and “Good Golly Miss Molly” during the mid-1950s.
Icon performers like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Bill Haley all performed his music and British entertainers like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Rod Stewart all praised Little Richard as a music influence.
