Celebrating the legacy and music of 1986 Inductee Little Richard.
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Inductee Little Richard ripped-up the Fifties. His unrestrained musicality and charismatic persona created a rock & roll blueprint followed by generations. Songs like “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly” were amplified by Richard's rockin’ piano, rolling rhythms and an electric stage presence. His sound and style were the cornerstones of rock & roll, and his outrageousness and rebellious spirit challenged the world to change.
Explore Little Richard's Inductee page to read his Hall of Fame program bio, watch videos from various Induction Ceremony appearances and performances and browse image galleries from the Induction Ceremony and archival materials.
Even though Little Richard was unable to attend his own Induction Ceremony in 1986, you can view numerous occasions where Richard presented fellow artists Otis Redding and The Supremes into the Hall of Fame, as well as performances of "Lucille" and "Tutti Frutti" as part of our From the Vault video collection.
"Early rock & roll was clearly infused with the rhythm of God..."
A guest post from past Author Series lecturer Steven Baur, of Dalhousie University, on the the backbeat in the Black Pentecostal Church. Learn how early appearances of the backbeat in the music of this particular setting helps establish the centrality of African American sacred music in the development of rock & roll.