Georgia, United States

Little Richard (born Richard Wayne Penniman, December 5, 1932 in Macon, Georgia, United States) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist, and an early pioneer of rock ‘n’ roll, influencing generations of R&B and rock artists. Many of his fans have proclaimed Richard as The Real King of Rock ‘n’ Roll . He has also been called the King of Rockin ‘n’ Rollin, Rhythm & Blues Soulin’. His original injection of funk into the rock and roll beat in the mid-1950’s also had a profound influence on the development of that genre of music.

One of twelve children, Little Richard grew up in a Seventh-day Adventist family, but he mostly attended the New Hope Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia (Turner, Hungry for Heaven, p. 19). He also attended Holiness/Pentacostal churches of the U.S. South, where he learned Gospel music.
EARLY YEARS

Richard Penniman was inspired by black gospel music greats of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Nearly all of his dramatic phrasing and swift vocal turns are derived from gospel artists, such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, whom he referred to as his “favorite singer” when he was a child (she invited him to sing a song with her onstage in 1944, after she heard him sing her hit “Strange Things Happening Everyday”).......