R.I.P. Little Richard, Rock & Roll Pioneer Dies at 87 | Consequence of Sound

 
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All that’s to say, Richard is a massive figure in rock and roll’s lexicon, whose music and theatrics inspired an entire genre of artists. Everyone from James Brown to The Beatles to Elton John to Prince have cited Richard as a major inspiration on their own careers.

In our 2016 ranking of the 100 greatest vocalist of all time, contributor Collin Brennan summed up the vast influence of Little Richard by writing:

If vocalists were ranked solely based on the length of their musical shadow, the rock ‘n’ roll legend known as Little Richard would sit at the top of this list. This was the man whose voice once rendered John Lennon speechless, whose all-time hit “Tutti Frutti” convinced David Bowie that he was hearing God inside the vinyl grooves… Listening to a Little Richard record is an incongruous physical experience, the kind that lights a fire under your feet while sending a chill down your spine. To listen to the descending “woo!”s on “Long Tall Sally” or the intense, rhythmic delivery on “Lucille” is to locate exactly where rock ‘n’ roll got its groove, its ferocity, its hunger. Some critics claim that without Little Richard, there wouldn’t be The Beatles or The Stones. They’re wrong: Without Little Richard, there wouldn’t be rock music at all.!"

read obit by Alex Young​

R.I.P. Little Richard, Rock & Roll Pioneer Dies at 87 | Consequence of Sound: