Recommendations of the Editorial team
A lot of people call me the architect of Rock’n’roll. I don’t say that myself, but I think it’s true. After all, Little Richard was already known in 1951. I recorded for RCA-Victor-for black people, the Camden Records-was called before they signed Elvis. Then for Peacock in Houston. Then Specialty Records bought me – for $ 500, I think – and my first record for them, in 1956 it was a hit: “Tutti frutti”.
Everywhere in the world I felt like I had arrived, you know?
We immediately went on tour, drove around in the car, and because it was so bad with racism at the time and you hardly got a hotel room, we also slept in the car most of the time. We ate in the car, and when we had an appearance, we changed in the car. I had a Cadillac. The stars always drove Cadillac.
Do you still know what Liberace was wearing on stage? So Little Richard ran around all the time, very extravagant and with thick make-up. Many other musicians were made up at the time-the Cadillacs, the Coasters, the Drifters-but they had no make-up cases, just a sponge and a powder box in their pockets. Everyone thought I was gay.
People spoke of rock’n’roll as African music. They thought he would drive the kids crazy and was just a short -term story – the same thing they say about hip -hop today. Only that it was worse back then. I was the first black artist whose records were also bought by white.
I didn’t get any money for most gigs, not for most records either, although almost everything comes from me
And the parents hated me. We played in places where we were told that we shouldn’t come back because the kids freaked out. They threw bottles and jumped down from the gallery during the show. At that time, the white kids had to sit on the gallery. Then they jumped down to mix under the blacks.
I didn’t get any money for most gigs, not for most plates, even though almost everything comes from me. In the studio they gave me a few words and I made a song out of it! With rhythm and everything. “Good Golly Miss Molly”! I didn’t get a cent for that. The Specialty things then belonged to Michael Jackson. He once offered me a job in his publisher as a songwriter, but I declined. Should have taken better.
I wish a lot of things had gone differently. I think I never got what I am. It’s nice to be one of the 50 immortal, but who is number one and who number two is no longer interested. Because it won’t be the largest for me anyway. The Rolling Stones started with me at the time, but they will always stand in front of me.
The Beatles, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix – all these people started with me. I fed them, talked to them, and now they are always in front of me. Nevertheless, I am still happy to be here. If people want to have fun, they still hear rock’n’roll. I am glad to have been part of it. There are only a few of us left: Chuck, Fats, Jerry Lee, the Everly Brothers. The good days will soon be over. Soon everything will be different. But never like before. Never.
Note: This text dates from 2011, Little Richard died in 2020.