Little Richard's Life in Photos
Little Richard's Life in Photos
Little Richard's Early Years
Born in Macon, Georgia, on Dec. 5, 1932, Richard Wayne Penniman was the third of Charles and Leva Penniman's 12 children. A slight boy with one leg slightly shorter than another, he found his talent for singing at a young age during his Sunday visits to New Hope Baptist Church with his mother.
According to a 1979 PEOPLE profile, he started a group called the Tiny Tots Quartet, which put on gospel music shows at churches and senior homes — and was paid in sweet potatoes.
"There wasn't any rock'n'roll at that time," he told PEOPLE. "So we sang gospel. Everybody around us was singing gospel — the women hanging out the wash, the old men on the porches at night, everybody."
Little Richard Finds Fame
Penniman dropped out of high school and eventually formed his band, Little Richard and the Upsetters, in the early 1950s.
"We used to upset everybody because we all wore makeup and acted weird," he told PEOPLE in 1979.
His mega-hit "Tutti Frutti" topped the charts in 1956, sending him into superstardom.
"I wanted attention," he said. "I always had a big head. I wasn't that interested in money. I wanted to be famous and have a Cadillac. Where I was born the only time you rode in a Cadillac was after you were dead."
Little Richard Leaves Music for College
The '50s took the rocker around the world to perform his hits like "Long Tall Sally," "Ready Teddy," "Ooh! My Soul" and "Send Me Some Lovin'." But drug use and the grind of tour life were taking a toll.
After a farewell concert at N.Y.C.'s Apollo Theater in 1957, he decided to leave show business for religious studies.
Penniman enrolled at Oakwood College in Alabama to study theology; according to his 1979 PEOPLE profile, he never got a degree, but toured the South delivering sermons about his life change.
In 1963 he returned to music, hitting the tour circuit again with acts like the Beatles and Rolling Stones opening for him abroad. But, he told PEOPLE, by the early '70s he found himself living "like a dog," watching friends die from drug overdoses and suicide. "I started to realize God was talking to me," he said. "He was letting me know I was losing my soul." He again left the spotlight for evangelism into the 1980s, even officiating weddings for stars like Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.
Little Richard and Wife Ernestine Harvin
In 1957, Penniman met Ernestine Harvin; the pair wed two years later. Before they divorced in 1964, they adopted a 1-year-old son, Danny, still present in the rocker's life at his death.
Little Richard's Musical Influences
Artists including James Brown, Otis Redding, Elvis Presley and David Bowie considered him an influence; he was often credited with bridging a gap between races through music.
"Richard opened the door. He brought the races together," said arranger H.B. Barnum in the Charles White biography The Life and Times of Little Richard.
"When I first went on the road, there were many segregated audiences. With Richard, although they still had the audiences segregated in the building, they were there together. And most times before the end of the night, they would all be mixed together."
Little Richard's Style and Sexuality
Long before it was popular, Penniman was embracing androgyny, sporting his signature six-inch coif, pencil mustache and costumes — which often in part came off — on stage. He spoke openly about his fluid sexuality and look in The Life and Times of Little Richard.
Little Richard's '80s Rebirth
The 1985 release of The Life and Times of Little Richard propelled the showman back into show business, and he once again began making music and even appearing in films like Down and Out in Beverly Hills.
Little Richard's Grammy Award
Though the singer never won a Grammy Award during his career, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. Four years prior, he was a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's initial class of inductees.
Little Richard in the 2010s
Penniman was still performing throughout the early 2000s with the same gusto as his early years, standing at the piano, full of energy. By 2015 he began winding down his live shows, appearing for television interviews intermittently.
Little Richard Dies
On May 9, 2020, the singer's agent Dick Alen confirmed to PEOPLE that the entertainer died at age 87 of bone cancer.
"He was battling for a good while, many years. I last spoke to him about two or three weeks ago. I knew he wasn't well but he never really got into it, he just would say 'I'm not well.' He's been suffering for many years with various aches and pains. He just wouldn't talk about it much."
Tributes poured in from collaborators and celebrities, including director Ava DuVernay, who shared a sweet memory of the singer on Twitter.
"I served soul food brunch to Little Richard every Sunday for a year while waitressing at Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch in LA. He tipped me a crisp $100 bill each week on a $75 breakfast with friends. This was 30 years ago. Helped me so much. God rest his soul."
The legendary musician died on May 9, 2020, at age 87 from bone cancer