Little Richard, the flashy rock and roll pioneer widely considered among the genre’s most influential musicians, died Saturday morning at the age of 87, his son told reporters.
Danny Jones Penniman confirmed his father died early Saturday, Rolling Stone magazine first reported. He did not specify how or where he died, The New York Times reported later.
Born in 1932 as Richard Wayne Penniman, the musician began performing live as a teenager and recorded his debut studio album, “Here’s Little Richard,” in 1955.
Released two years later, the record contained songs including “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally” — both later recorded by Elvis Presley and The Beatles, among others — that effectively helped shape the sound of rock and roll during its earliest years.
He continued to record and release studio albums during the decades that followed, and he was among the first group of musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when it began honoring musicians in 1986, putting him in the same class as Presley, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis, among others.
Musicians began to pay respects on social media to Penniman shortly after news of his death was reported.
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Stevie Van Zandt, a guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, described Penniman on Twitter as the “man who invented Rock and Roll.”
“Elvis popularized it. Chuck Berry was the storyteller. Richard was the archetype,” tweeted Mr. Van Zandt.
“He was there at the beginning and showed us all how to rock and roll,” Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson echoed on Twitter. “He was a such a great talent and will be missed. Little Richard’s music will last forever.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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