Little Richard, whose extreme showmanship and lightning-fast beats intoxicated crowds with singles like “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally,” has expired. He was 87 years old.
Reverend Bill Minson, a friend of the legendary musician Little Richard, reported AFP. He died Saturday morning following a battle with cancer.
With a unique range from robust belting to howling falsetto, Richard transfixed fans and inspired musicians including The Beatles as he transformed the blues into the exciting new style of rock ‘n’ roll alongside Fats Domino and Chuck Berry.
Once openly — by standards of the time — attracted to men, Richard became a born-again Christian and forsaken homosexuality as a temporary choice, anathema to the modern gay rights movement and psychologists.
And while he was one of the first African-American artists to cross the racial divide, a younger generation of black DJs had little interest in an artist seen as embedded in the white mainstream.
