*The life and contributions of Little Richard are followed in vivid detail in the new documentary “Little Richard: I Am Everything,” which hit streaming platforms on Friday after opening earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
According to USA TODAY’s Melissa Ruggieri, the film explores how the showman, born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, GA, “struggled with his identity as a Black, queer man performing in the 1950s and how his music inadvertently guided the careers of artists ranging from The Rolling Stones to Culture Club.”
In his heyday during the 1950s, the rock-n-roll standout released such soon-to-be timeless classics as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Rip It Up,” “Ready Teddy” and “Lucille.” The documentary makes a point to highlight the man white musicians who covered, idolized or adopted Little Richard’s music and style and used it to fuel their own chart success, which more time than not surpassed that of Little Richard’s. For example, Ruggieri says the film brings up Pat Boone’s bland cover of “Tutti Frutti” that “moved more copies of the song than Little Richard, who, as the songwriter, was paid a half-cent for every record sold.”
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The film features a string of white rock legends giving credit to Little Richard for shaping their own sound and image. Ruggieri points out the following as examples:
• When The Rolling Stones opened for Little Richard in 1963, Mick Jagger remembers standing on the sidelines through 30 performances to watch, learn and realize, “You don’t have to stand there – use the whole stage.”
• Producer/musician Nile Rodgers recalls how much David Bowie idolized Little Richard, to the point of telling Rodgers that he wanted his “Let’s Dance” album to sound like him.
• John Waters says he’s sported his distinctive mustache his entire career in “twisted tribute” to Little Richard, and gleefully blames the firebrand for giving him “the fuel to rebel really, really early.”
• Tom Jones marvels at Little Richard’s rubbery voice that could jut skyward or careen with nuance, believing Little Richard was the “strongest of his peers,” including Presley and Fats Domino.
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