Little Richard, the self-proclaimed B次元官网网址渁rchitect of rock B次元官网网址榥B次元官网网址� rollB次元官网网址� whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died Saturday. He was 87.

Pastor Bill Minson, a close friend of Little RichardB次元官网网址檚, told The Associated Press that Little Richard died Saturday morning. Minson said he also spoke to Little RichardB次元官网网址檚 son and brother.

Minson added that the family is not releasing the cause of death.

Born Richard Penniman, Little Richard was one of rock B次元官网网址榥B次元官网网址� rollB次元官网网址檚 founding fathers who helped shatter the colour line on the music charts, joining Chuck Berry and Fats Domino in bringing what was once called B次元官网网址渞ace musicB次元官网网址� into the mainstream. RichardB次元官网网址檚 hyperkinetic piano playing, coupled with his howling vocals and hairdo, made him an implausible sensation B次元官网网址� a gay, black man celebrated across America during the buttoned-down Eisenhower era.

He sold more than 30 million records worldwide, and his influence on other musicians was equally staggering, from the Beatles and Otis Redding to Creedence Clearwater Revival and David Bowie. In his personal life, he wavered between raunch and religion, alternately embracing the Good Book and outrageous behaviour.

B次元官网网址淟ittle Richard? ThatB次元官网网址檚 rock B次元官网网址榥B次元官网网址� roll,B次元官网网址� Neil Young, who heard RichardB次元官网网址檚 riffs on the radio in Canada, told biographer Jimmy McDonough. B次元官网网址淟ittle Richard was great on every record.B次元官网网址�

It was 1956 when his classic B次元官网网址淭utti FruttiB次元官网网址� landed like a hand grenade in the Top 40, exploding from radios and off turntables across the country. It was highlighted by RichardB次元官网网址檚 memorable call of B次元官网网址渨op-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom.B次元官网网址�

A string of hits followed, providing the foundation of rock music: B次元官网网址淟ucille,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淜eep A KnockinB次元官网网址�,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淟ong Tall Sally,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淕ood Golly Miss Molly.B次元官网网址� More than 40 years after the latter charted, Bruce Springsteen was still performing B次元官网网址淕ood Golly Miss MollyB次元官网网址� live.

The BeatlesB次元官网网址� Paul McCartney imitated RichardB次元官网网址檚 signature yelps B次元官网网址� perhaps most notably in the B次元官网网址淲ooooo!B次元官网网址� from the hit B次元官网网址淪he Loves You.B次元官网网址� Ex-bandmate John Lennon covered RichardB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淩ip It UpB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淩eady TeddyB次元官网网址� on the 1975 B次元官网网址淩ock and RollB次元官网网址� album.

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in 1986, he was among the charter members with Elvis Presley, Berry, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke and others.

Few were quicker to acknowledge Little RichardB次元官网网址檚 seminal role than Richard himself. The flamboyant singer claimed he paved the way for Elvis, provided Mick Jagger with his stage moves and conducted vocal lessons for McCartney.

B次元官网网址淚 am the architect of rock B次元官网网址榥B次元官网网址� roll!B次元官网网址� Little Richard crowed at the 1988 Grammy Awards as the crowd rose in a standing ovation. B次元官网网址淚 am the originator!B次元官网网址�

Richard Wayne Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia, during the Great Depression, one of 12 children. He was ostracized because he was effeminate and suffered a small deformity: his right leg was shorter than his left.

The family was religious, and Richard sang in local churches with a group called the Tiny Tots. The tug-of-war between his upbringing and rock B次元官网网址榥B次元官网网址� roll excess tormented Penniman throughout his career.

Penniman was performing with bands by the age of 14, but there were problems at home over his sexual orientation. His father beat the boy and derided him as B次元官网网址渉alf a son.B次元官网网址�

Richard left home to join a minstrel show run by a man known as Sugarloaf Sam, occasionally appearing in drag.

In late 1955, Little Richard recorded the bawdy B次元官网网址淭utti Frutti,B次元官网网址� with lyrics that were sanitized by a New Orleans songwriter. It went on to sell 1 million records over the next year.

When Little RichardB次元官网网址檚 hit was banned by many white-owned radio stations, white performers like Pat Boone and Elvis Presley did cover versions that topped the charts.

Little Richard went Hollywood with an appearance in B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 Knock the Rock.B次元官网网址� But his wild lifestyle remained at odds with his faith, and a conflicted Richard quit the business in 1957 to enrol in a theological school and get married.

Richard remained on the charts when his label released previously recorded material. And he recorded a gospel record, returning to his roots.

A 1962 arrest for a sexual encounter with a man in a bus station restroom led to his divorce and return to performing.

He mounted three tours of England between 1962 and 1964, with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones serving as opening acts. Back in the States, he put together a band that included guitarist Jimi Hendrix B次元官网网址� and later fired Hendrix when he was late for a bus.

In 1968, Richard hit Las Vegas and relaunched his career. Within two years, he had another hit single and made the cover of Rolling Stone.

By the mid-1970s, Richard was battling a $1,000-a-day cocaine problem and once again abandoned his musical career. He returned to religion, selling Bibles and renouncing homosexuality. For more than a decade, he vanished.

B次元官网网址淚f God can save an old homosexual like me, he can save anybody,B次元官网网址� Richard said.

But he returned, in 1986, in spectacular fashion. Little Richard was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and appeared in the movie B次元官网网址淒own and Out in Beverly Hills.B次元官网网址�

A Little Richard song from the soundtrack, B次元官网网址淕reat Gosh AB次元官网网址橫ighty,B次元官网网址� even put him back on the charts for the first time in more than 15 years. Little Richard was back to stay, enjoying another dose of celebrity that he fully embraced.

Macon, Georgia, named a street after its favourite son. And Little Richard was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In August 2002, he announced his retirement from live performing. But he continued to appear frequently on television, including a humorous appearance on a 2006 commercial for GEICO insurance.

Richard had hip surgery in November 2009 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, and asked fans at the time to pray for him. He lived in the Nashville area at the time.

Kristin M. Hall, The Associated Press

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