Little Richard

(born Dec. 5, 1932, Macon, Ga., U.S.) U.S. rhythm and blues singer and pianist. Born into a strict religious family, he sang and played piano in church but was later ejected from his home by his father, reportedly for homosexual behaviour.

He performed in nightclubs, traveled with a medicine show, and recorded as a blues artist from the early 1950s. His first big hit came with “Tutti Frutti” (1956), an energetic performance that, with his penchant for the outrageous, set a standard for the emerging rock idiom. Similar hits followed, including “Long Tall Sally,” “Lucille,” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly.” In 1957 he underwent a religious conversion and was later ordained a minister. He soon returned to music, becoming a regular attraction in Las Vegas, and he continued to tour and appear in films with much success. He was an original inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.