Rock and roll legend Little Richard has died at the age of 87, his family has confirmed.
The musician’s hit Good Golly Miss Molly made the charts in 1958. Other well-known songs include Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally.
Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Elton John all cited Little Richard an influence. The musician was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
The pioneering rock ‘n’ roll singer died of bone cancer in Tullahoma, Tennessee, his family said.
Little Richard was born as Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia, on December 5, 1932. Growing up in the southern US state, he absorbed the rhythms of gospel music and the influences of New Orleans, blending them into his own piano-laden extravaganzas.
His father was a preacher who also ran a nightclub, and his mother was a devout Baptist.
“I was born in the slums. My daddy sold whiskey, bootleg whiskey,” Little Richard told Rolling Stone magazine in 1970.
The singer left home in his teens after disagreements with his father who initially didn’t support his music.
“My daddy wanted seven boys, and I had spoiled it, because I was gay,” he later said.
Little Richard was one of 12 children, and said he had started singing because he wanted to stand out from his siblings.
His music was embraced by both black and white fans at a time when parts of the US were still segregated, and concerts had a rope up the centre of the auditorium to divide people by color.
Little Richard had his biggest hits in the 1950s and was known for his exuberant performances, shrieks, raspy voice and flamboyant outfits. He sold more than 30 million records worldwide.
However, it was not just a celebration: a number of artists chose to use the occasion to make impassioned pleas and remember lost friends.
Late rapper Tupac Shakur‘s award was collected by his friend, fellow rapper Snoop Dogg.
Joan Baez – as known for her activism as her singing – made a rallying call for resistance in the face of “the new political cultural reality”.
Image source Flickr
The 76-year-old folk singer, who admitted most younger people had never heard her work, made a return to the spotlight this week when her song Nasty Man went viral.
Joan Baez – imitating Donald Trump’s particular way of speaking – told the audience gathered at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center: “Let us together repeal and replace brutality and make compassion a priority. Let us build a great bridge, a beautiful bridge, to welcome the tired and the poor.”
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder tackled climate change, saying: “We cannot be the generation that history will look back upon and wonder, why didn’t they do everything humanly possible to solve this biggest crisis of our time?”
Snoop Dogg was on hand to collect Tupac Shakur’s trophy, more than two decades after he was shot dead in Las Vegas.
Calling Tupac “the greatest rapper of all time”, Snoop Dogg recalled how they were just “two black boys struggling to become men”, adding: “To be human is to be many things at once: strong and vulnerable, hard-headed and intellectual, courageous and afraid, loving and vengeful, revolutionary and, oh yeah… gangsta!”
Tributes were also paid to 1986 Hall of Fame inductee Chuck Berry, who died last month aged 90, with ELO playing one of his best known hits – Roll Over Beethoven.
Meanwhile, Nile Rodgers – lead guitarist of disco band Chic – was recognized for his contribution to production.
Chuck Berry has passed away at the age of 90, Missouri police reported.
The rock and roll legend was found unresponsive at lunchtime on March 18, St Charles County Police Department said.
Chuck Berry‘s seven-decade career boasted a string of hits, including classics Roll Over Beethoven and Johnny B. Goode.
The singer received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1984 and was among the first inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
The St Charles County PD said in a Facebook post that they were called to reports of an unresponsive man at 12:40 local time.
“Unfortunately, the 90-year-old man could not be revived and was pronounced deceased at 1:26pm,” the statement said.
Image source Wikimedia
“The St. Charles County Police Department sadly confirms the death of Charles Edward Anderson Berry Sr., better known as legendary musician Chuck Berry.”
High-profile musicians were quick to pay tribute to Chuck Berry’s talent and influence.
Motown legends The Jacksons tweeted: “Chuck Berry merged blues & swing into the phenomenon of early rock’n’roll. In music, he cast one of the longest shadows. Thank You Chuck.”
Ringo Starr quoted one of Chuck Berry’s own lyrics on Twitter, saying: “Just let me hear some of that rock ‘n’ roll music any old way you use it.”
“I am playing I’m talking about you,” the Beatles drummer wrote.
The Beatles and the Rolling Stones covered Chuck Berry’s songs, as did The Beach Boys and scores of other acts – including Elvis Presley.
Mick Jagger said that Chuck Berry “lit up our teenage years and blew life into our dreams”.
Chuck Berry was born in St Louis, Missouri, in 1926, and had his first hit, Maybellene, in 1955.
In 2016, Chuck Berry announced he would be releasing his first album in nearly four decades. He dedicated the album to his wife of 68 years, Themetta “Toddy”.
Paul McCartney will induct his former bandmate Ringo Starr into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next month in Cleveland.
Ringo Starr is the last of The Beatles receive the musical honor.
Paul McCartney will usher in the 74-year-old at the 30th annual ceremony at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum next month.
The Beatles are already in the hall as a group, as are John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison as solo artists.
Other inductees will include Green Day, Lou Reed and Bill Withers.
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Ringo Starr said it meant “recognition” of his work.
He added: “And it means, finally, the four of us are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame even though we were the biggest pop group in the land.”
Eagle Joe Walsh will perform some of Ringo Starr’s music, while Bill Withers’ music will be performed by John Legend.
It is not known if Bill Withers, who quit the music business more than 30 years ago, will sing himself.
Patti Smith will induct Lou Reed, who died in 2013, while Beck will perform the Velvet Underground singer’s music.
Joan Jett, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and the “5” Royales will also be elevated to the elite musical club at the Cleveland ceremony.
Artists become eligible to enter the Hall of Fame 25 years after their first release.
Bill Withers is to be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
The musician, whose hits include Lean On Me and Lovely Day, has not released any new material since 1985 and makes very few public appearances.
Bill Withers, 76, told Rolling Stone magazine he would attend the Hall of Fame ceremony on April 18, 2015, joking: “I guess I’ll have to go buy a suit.”
Asked whether he would sing, Bill Withers replied: “I don’t know if I can.”
“I’ll find out between then and now,” he added.
“There are some people that can sing in their later years and some of them that can’t,” he continued.
“I don’t want to be one of those old guys that sounds like a gerbil trying to give birth to a hippopotamus.
“I’ve gotta see if I can’t conjure it up.”
Bill Withers was announced as a nominee for the Hall of Fame in October, alongside The Smiths, Lou Reed, Sting, Green Day, NWA and Nine Inch Nails.
Bill Withers’ name was selected for induction following a vote by fellow artists, historians, music industry insiders and the public.
“It was kind of odd to get nominated,” he told Rolling Stone.
“I just never felt that anyone owed me this.”
Other artists to be given a spot include I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll hitmaker Joan Jett, late guitar virtuoso Stephen Ray Vaughan and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Lou Reed and Green Day also earned places, but The Smiths, NWA and Sting all missed out – as did disco pioneers Chic and German electronic band Kraftwerk.
However, Ringo Starr will also receive a special award for musical excellence at the ceremony, making him the last Beatle to be inducted as a solo artist.
Artists are eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame 25 years after their first recording was released.
Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Nirvana, Joni Mitchell, Madonna, Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin and Elton John have all earned their places over the years.
Nirvana has been inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside the likes of Kiss and Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
REM’s Michael Stipe inducted the group, saying: “Nirvana tapped into a voice that was yearning to be heard.
“Nirvana were kicking against the mainstream. They spoke truth and a lot of people listened.”
Nirvana’s career was cut short by Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994. His widow, Courtney Love, attended the ceremony.
Nirvana received their place in the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility
“You know, I have a big speech, but I’m not going to say it,” Courtney Love said, before hugging Kurt Cobain’s bandmates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl.
“That’s it,” she concluded.
“I just wish Kurt was here to do this.”
Dave Grohl, Nirvana’s drummer and now frontman of rock group Foo Fighters, paid tribute to the musicians who formed the early line-ups of Nirvana, in particular drummer Chad Channing, who he singled out for his contributions to the band’s breakthrough album Nevermind.
Bass guitarist Kris Novoselic added: “Nirvana fans walk up to me every day and say thank you for the music.
“When I hear that, I think of Kurt Cobain.”
Nirvana received their place in the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Artists can only be considered for the honor 25 years after their first release.
Veteran rock band Kiss has pulled out of their performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in a disagreement over their line-up.
Kiss failed to decide which members would be on stage for the concert on April 10.
They said on their website the “memory of those times” would not be served by a reunion of the original line-up.
Other inductees who will be honored in New York include Nirvana, Peter Gabriel and Linda Ronstadt.
Musical acts are eligible to be elevated to the Hall of Fame 25 years after their first release.
Kiss, famous for their elaborate stage make-up and costumes, first formed in 1973, including current band members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
Kiss has pulled out of their performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in a disagreement over their line-up
Originals Ace Frehley and Peter Criss subsequently quit the group, which continued with different musicians.
Their statement continued: “To bring this to a quick end, we have decided not to play in any line-up, and we will focus our attention on celebrating our induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.
“This is understandably an emotional situation where there is no way to please everyone.”
Ace Frehley claimed Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley had rejected a reunion with their original bandmates.
“It’s very frustrating. It’s what the fans wanted, it’s what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wanted, and it’s not gonna happen,” he told DJ Eddie Trunk.
The band’s statement denied that they had ever scotched a reunion with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. This would have marked the original quartet’s first performance together in more than 13 years, at the end of a reunion which lasted from 1996-2000.
Ace Frehley and Peter Criss have not confirmed if they will attend the ceremony.
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