RIP LIttle Richard

From 1955-57, Little Richard helped create "Rock and Roll" while recording for Specialty Records.  The records he made there were a mix of frenetic, Rock, R&B with a tinge of his Gospel background.  Then there were his vocals.  Always on the edge of the beat, but not screaming.  He was singing, but it was unlike anything I'd heard before. "Lucille" is my favorite, but anything from his peak is prime.

"Tutti Frutti" remains the template. 2 1/2 minutes of everything Little Richard had to give.

Then, it was over.  Richard left Rock and Roll behind and recorded Gospel records (pretty good ones, too).  And didn't return to secular music until 1962.  Five years was a long time back then.  When he came back a newer generation of artists (namely British Invasion bands) had come along, influenced by his Specialty hits. Richard's own records at the time were competent but couldn't quite match the spirit of his earlier sides.  While he never found the right recordings for a spectacular comeback he was still a force on stage.  And that's where he flourished the last decades of his life.

But his legend is with the sides he cut at Specialty for two incredible years in the mid-50's.  That's where he became the Architect of Rock 'n' Roll.