"I am the emancipator, I am the originator, I am the architect of Rock and Roll." These are the words of none other than Little Richard and they certainly couldn't be any truer. The man excelled in both sheer musical talent as well as stage performance, both of which led to him becoming the first true rock star!.
When he first started recording in 1951, all of the other black artists were doing jazz and blues, but Little Richard's style was much different. His music was much wilder and appealed a lot more to the youth in America. In a time when racism was rampant throughout America, Little Richard broke many barriers. In fact his release, "Tutti Frutti" sold over 2 million copies, a lot of which bought by white kids. During the 50's it is definitely safe to say that Richard was the true king: he had t-shirts, posters, and even baseball cards! While others may say Elvis was the man, even he himself could attest to the fact that without Little Richard he wouldn't be there.
"Your music has inspired me, you are the greatest." These words were spoken by the "King" himself in 1969. Even more proof is that on 16 of the 21 television shows Elvis starred in, he performed music by Little Richard. Not only did he inspire Elvis, but also other famous artists such as Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and James Brown. In fact, after his tune "Long Tall Sally" was released, it was an instant #1 and was re-recorded by the likes of Elvis, Bill Haley, and countless others. In addition to that, he was also one of the first artists in along time to have double-sided hits. They were so good that DJs didn't know which side to play as both were awesome. .
Not only was his music great, but his showmanship was easily just as good, if not better! While other singers during his time would just stand by the mic and sing, Little Richard was much different. During a typical performance, he would rip off his clothes, throw them into the audience, and constantly be jumping all over the stage.