Little Richard, the founding father of rock’n’roll, has passed away at the age of 87. Born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia, on December 5, 1932, Little Richard burst onto the scene in late 1955 with the release of his breakthrough tune, Tutti Frutti. The track’s opening vocal salvo – ‘A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!’ – introduced rock’n’roll’s elemental power into a world that was still effectively starting to emerge from the trauma of World War II. Such was the excitement Richard generated – both vocally and with the rhythmic power that defined his early recordings – that his music appealed to a white audience at the time when segregation was still prevalent. Today, it is hard to imagine the impact of that tune and its significance in breaking down barrier...
