RIP: Little Richard
He was known as the architect of Rock. Richard Wayne Penniman, better known as Little Richard, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An influential figure in popular music, Richard's most celebrated work dates from the mid-1950s, when his dynamic music and charismatic showmanship laid the foundation for rock and roll, leading him to be given the nickname "The Innovator,
Little Richard, whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour hairstyles irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died in Memphis at 87.