Little Richard

I’ve been listening to early rock and roll, and marvelling at how some of those artists still sound fresh now, and how influential they have been. The best example: Richard Wayne Penniman, who can’t have been in any sense little, beyond childhood.

He acknowledges jump blues man Billy Wright as an influence, and you can see and hear the resemblance – upswept quiff, sharp suits, heavy driving beat – but Penniman turbocharges the music and the look. Above all, he makes a show of his performance. He also borrowed heavily – the look and the piano style – from another artist of the era, the forgotten Steven Quincy (SQ) Reeder, known as Esquerita.

Tracing acknowledged musical influence is relatively straight-forward – for example from Little Richard back to singer Brother Joe May, who only ever sang gospel, but was heavily influenced by Bessie Smith, as well as by gospel singer Willie Mae Ford Smith. You can do the same going forward in time – it’s hard to find a rocker not influenced by Little Richard’s example. Penniman’s look and showmanship was a big part of his act, so tracing those influences can also be illuminating.