Talk:Little Richard

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Contents 1 Tutti Frutti 2 Discography 3 Gay? 4 "however, he can't swim" 5 Infobox image 6 Anecdote 7 Trivia section 8 Moving the Trivia section to the talk page while sources are verified 9 Trivia

[edit] Tutti Frutti

I do believe that Tutti Frutti was originally called Loose Booty. The new name and lyrics were just to make the song releasable.

This sounds interesting... Do you know if the original song is available anywhere?

Tutti Frutti's lyrics were cleaned up but it was not called loose booty and there is no recording of the original lyrics.

"A WOP BOP A LOO BOP A GOOD GOD D***! TUTTI FRUTTI GOOD BOOTY, TUTTI FRUTTI GOOD BOOTY TUTTI FRUUUTI GOOD BOOTY, TUTTI FRUTTI GOOD BOOTY, TUTTI FRUTTI GOOD BOOTY. A WOP BOP A LOO BOP A GOOD GOD D**!

Little Richard performed this at his early live shows in the Atlanta area of Georgia in the very early 1950s.

[edit] Discography

I don't trust that discography at all. Little Richard is not about albums. In fact, to list all his albums is to do him a disservice (one that he asked for), because many of his albums consist of nothing but remakes of his hits recorded with other musicians for other record companies. Plus, I just plain don't believe that his first album was released in 1956 and called Cast a long shadow. Ortolan88 04:34, 4 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Cast a Long Shadow is a live album released in 1971... it could have been recorded much earlier, but it certainly doesn't sound like it's from 1956 (1970, more like.) PJV 16:03, 1 Feb 2006 (CST)

[edit] Gay?

Little Richard was bisexual if you read the official biography of Little Richard you will find that out.

What's the reference that he is gay? Alison9 07:24, 27 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I will add http://www.glbtq.com/arts/little_richard.html to the article. Hyacinth 17:54, 27 Jan 2005 (UTC)

he aint gay thats all i know

uh, yes he is. He admitted it at one point, and then renounced it, which some say was due to pressure from his faith and the public's shock

More references concerning LR's sexual orientation:

• In 1979, during a revival meeting in North Richmond, California, he warned the congregation about the evils of rock & roll music and declared, "If God can save an old homosexual like me, he can save anybody." http://www.classicbands.com/littlerichard.html

• Little Richard was the most exciting and dynamic musical figure that the world had ever seen up to that point. Compared to most of the other records of the day, "Tutti-Frutti" was like an atomic bomb exploding. Over the course of the next three years Richard released several of the greatest rock and roll records ever made, and established himself as the most radical of all of the rock and roll superstars of the day. Most adults in those days thought that his music was absolutely barbaric, and to top it off, he regularly wore makeup on stage, had a wild hairdo, and led a fairly open bisexual lifestyle for those days. http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_artists-bio/lrichard.html

• "Little Richard" was made with the approval of the now-67-year-old Richard, who is credited as its executive producer. But in interviews he's complained about the accuracy of the script and its inferences about a gay sex life he already has admitted to in his own autobiography. Go figure. http://www.rockabilly.net/articles/littlerichard2.shtml

• http://www.nndb.com/people/470/000026392/
• http://www.sptimes.com/2004/04/01/Floridian/_Queer__no_longer_sti.shtml
• http://www.onstagemag.com/ar/performance_happened_month_16/index.htm

And yeah, I'd say a rock musician's sexual orientation was pretty damn pertinent to his biography and to his art. Tutti-frutti!

Kaicarver 12:46, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Yeah it's pretty strange no mention is made whatsoever of his sexuality in this article. I remember seeing a documentary on rock music where after his religous turn in the 50s posters promoting his shows actually said something like "From Homosexual to Man of God". WesleyDodds 03:59, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Dunno, not really viable information. Maybe we should all check his autobiography. Not only that, but this guy (Little Richard) believes it to be a choice, therefore, he wouldn't be "gay anymore". Even so, he has made songs about, well, women. IronCrow 02:43, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

Then the history of his sexual orientation should have its own section, complete with all flip-flops. Same as any other rockstar who came out and then recanted, of which there are plenty. Perhaps a reference to the ex-gay movement is in order. LeaHazel : talk : contribs 18:03, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree.. and he was just featured on Logo (TV channel) for Black History Month, and about how he was thrown out of the family because he was gay, and later "denounced" it in the 60s. There's no reference at all in this article, which I found surprising. Tertiary7 21:52, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

I'd like to note that Tutti Frutti (song) describes Little Richard as "openly gay" at the time the song was written. If this claim cannot be substantiated, please remove it. --Ghirla ^-трёп- 17:06, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

I just removed that info per Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons. The policy is to "remove unsourced or poorly sourced controversial material" about living people. There must be a reliable source before it can be readded.--Roswell native 20:35, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "however, he can't swim"

? 83.253.38.57 21:39, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Should anyone care whether or note he's gay or bi-sexual? He is an True American Idol and historic figure. He fits my definition of transvestite ( heavy make-up, wigs, etc.) Oh well, thank God our society has moved beyond racism, bigotry, and homophobia, so that we don't have wonder whether or not we should enjoy a talented and entertaining artist.

I think may people would disagree with yoru assessment of American society. That said, his sexuality, particularly his identity during the highly charged 60s, 70s and 80s, is relevant to the article. As to should anyone care, that's a question for philosophers. =) Elefuntboy 01:16, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Infobox image

The image in the infobox does not seem to qualify as fair use. Does anyone have an alternate free-use image? Kevin 11:02, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Anecdote

Is it true, that after 1957 Little Richard walked door to door trying to buy his own records (that he now regarded as sinful) back from people? --128.214.205.4 09:08, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia section

The items in this section need to be incorporated into the body of the article. This isn't me "whining", it's a guideline in the Wikipedia Manual of Style - specifically Wikipedia:Avoid trivia sections in articles. Almost all of the items in this section are uncited as well, so if they can't be incorporated into the article, then the section just needs to be removed. --Roswell native 13:40, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

I've cut out parts of the trivia section - mostly ones that revealed, shock horror, that Little Richard sings. Pontificake 14:46, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Pontificake, since some editors keep removing the {{toomuchtrivia}} template without even the courtesy of talking about it on this talk page, I plan on removing the trivia section entirely unless someone objects here. In perusing it again just now, all of it seems non-noteworthy and non-encyclopedic in my opinion. I'll be happy to try and incorporate any trivia deemed otherwise, but the section needs to go per Wikipedia policy cited above. --Roswell native 07:23, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Ideally parts would be incorporated into the main article. I'd retain his having performed celeb marriages (subject to verifiability) and having a biopic made about him. Possibly keep appearing on Sesame Street and Celebrity Duets (but only if that was a major show in the USA). Pontificake 09:12, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Moving the Trivia section to the talk page while sources are verified

[edit] Trivia

As suggested in WP:TRIVIA, I'm moving the trivia section here to capture the info until sources can be verfied for incorporation back into the article.

• Little Richard has used his status as a Minister of the Gospel to occasionally perform celebrity weddings, most notably those of Cyndi Lauper, Tom Petty, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, and Bruce Springsteen.
• In 1994, Little Richard provided the voice of a parody character of himself in Food Rocks, a now closed Epcot attraction at Disney World. Little Richard voiced a pineapple named Richard.
• In the early to mid '90s, Little Richard performed several songs for children's PBS programs. He sang a rendition of "Rubber Ducky" on Sesame Street and also sang the theme song for The Magic School Bus.
• Little Richard appeared twice on Sesame Street once in 1993, performing a new version of "Rubber Duckie", and again in 2002, singing with the monster Rosita.
• In 2000, a made-for-tv biopic, Little Richard, was televised, starring Leon Robinson in the title role. Leon was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance, as was David Sibley for Outstanding Music Direction.
• In 2005, Little Richard appeared, along with Madonna, Iggy Pop, Bootsy Collins, and The Roots' ?uestlove in an American TV commercial for the Motorola ROKR phone.
• In January 2006, Penniman gave the eulogy and preached briefly at the funeral of his longtime friend Wilson Pickett.
• In August 2006, Little Richard was signed as one of three celebrity judges in British music mogul Simon Cowell's television show Celebrity Duets, which aired in September and October 2006 on the Fox network.
• On tour the weekend of James Brown's funeral, Little Richard dedicated his 2006-07 New Year's Eve performance to his longtime friend's family.
• Little Richard has tour dates booked through to May 2007.