Monday May 11, 2020 “Keep A Knockin” Little Richard
Jimi Hendrix played in his band, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones borrowed heavily from his catalog and style, he had many imitators, even artists like Pat Boone who started a career ‘whitening’ his music, but Little Richard was a one of a kind phenomenon whose energy and creativity couldn’t be replicated. He was an early rock & roll icon and now Little Richard has left the building.
Born Richard Penniman, he was an openly gay man who once said that if Elvis was the King of Rock than surely Little Richard was the Queen. Artists like Otis Redding, David Bowie, Prince, Michael Jackson and many others have referenced him either musically or actually paying tribute to his performances as influences over their own style and direction. Bob Dylan who briefly toured with him said he was ‘…generous, kind and humble. And dynamite as a performer…’
It was hard to pick a Little Richard song for today because, well they are all pretty much the same, just different lyrics. Please understand that is not criticism. I chose ‘Keep A Knockin’ because we could loosely tie it in to the virus (…but you can’t come in..) but also it was the first record that I ever purchase as a very young fan of rock & roll, we always remember our first, and yes I am that old (it was a 78 RPM record for anyone who remembers records).
Enjoy a taste of Little Richard high energy with the video.
Stay safe and well…a-bop-bop-a-loom-op a-lop-bop-boom.