The Life and Times of Little Richard

Little Richard became a star through sheer force of personality, breaking racial and sexual taboos on his way to becoming the primal force of rock 'n' roll. White chronicles a career that spanned the very rules of rock 'n' roll, tussles with God and the Devil and an erratic series of comebacks.

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When Little Richard burst onto the scene in the early 1950s, he sounded like nothing on earth. Drenched in sweat, screaming, hollering and pumping his piano. His stage act was so explosive that for years people assumed the real man could never match the flamboyant public image. Then came Charles White's book exposing the even more astonishing life and times of Richard Wayne Penniman from Georgia. Little Richard made himself a star through sheer force of personality, breaking racial and sexual taboos on his way to becoming the primal force of Fifties rock 'n' roll. Elvis Presley called him "the greatest". Otis Redding called him his "inspiration" and James Brown called him his idol. Using Richard's own words, White chronicles a staggering career that spanned the very rules of rock 'n' roll, the rise of The Beatles, tussles with God and the Devil and an erratic series of comebacks. The book is illustrated with pictures from Little Richard's own archive.