Wednesday December 5th is Little Richard's 75th birthday. Along with a birthday tribute (please see the post directly below this one), I decided to devote this week's Thursday Thirteen to the man born Richard Wayne Penniman. One thing is for sure, Little Richard is never at a loss for words and for that I am thankful.
1. Awop-bop-a-loo-mop alop bam boom!
2. Elvis may be the King of Rock and Roll, but I am the Queen.
3. The band hated that makeup. If we didn't put on makeup, they wouldn't have let us in those white clubs. They figured we weren't gonna bother the [white] girls.
4. When Pat Boone cut my record, I was mad. I wanted to get him. I said, "I'm going to Nashville to find him." I wanted to get him at that time because to me, he was stopping my progress. I wanted to be famous... and here this man done came and took my song! Not only did he take "Tutti Frutti", but he gone even take "Long Tall Sally" and he didn't even know how to duck back in no alley!
5. I did get arrested... for long hair. They said, "Why do you have on all that stuff you have on?" They didn't know it was just natural beauty on duty.
6. Talking to Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry: I was just telling Bo I'm just so sorry and saddened as I traveled the world... Bo Diddley, and like through Europe he's so huge through those countries and when you get back here at home, you don't hear nothing you know. This man has never gotten any recognition AT all. He's an innovator, he's an emancipator.
7. Referring to his wife's decision to divorce him: Ernestine was right. I was a neglectful husband. A terrible husband. I wouldn't have married me if I'd had diamond toenails and ruby eyeballs.
8. They shoulda called me Little Cocaine, I was sniffing so much of the stuff! My nose got big enough to back a diesel truck in, unload it, and drive it right out again.
9. Don't you dare, I know you got a spare!
10. On Janis Joplin: It had started raining and I had to close the show. Janis was screaming. She had been sucking on that Southern Comfort bottle. When she took off her shoes I thought, Oh Lord. And when she started leaping up and down I thought, Look at this woman. And you know, she could scream too. I thought, Oh my God. She stopped the whole thing. Got three standing ovations. She was very dangerous, that girl.
11. I had signed a very bad deal with Specialty. If you wanted to record you signed on their terms or you didn't record. I got a half cent for every record sold. Whoever heard of cutting a penny in half!
12. As a presenter at the 1987 Grammy Awards: And the winner is... me! I have never received nothing! You never gave me no Grammys and I've been singing for years! I am the architect of rock and roll! I am the originator!
13. SHUT UP!
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40 comments:
Number one is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Little Richard. I enjoyed reading his quotes...very entertaining.
www.mamapj.com
Holy Moly...this is a wicked TT list...you desere honorable mention!!!
I don't think I knew half of these things, and Ididn't know it was his birthday. You did a great job Malcolm...I've got to get my boyfriend to come see this one!!!
Hey for you and your' visitors...I've posted the factors that are corelated to childrens test scores...! They are in my TT list...
http://gnosticminx.blogspot.com/2007/12/nature-versus-nurture.html
All I have to say is Lil Richard is a mess! (LOL)
Little Richard is a national treasure, who along with artists, like Bo Diddley and to a certain degree Chuck Berry, have never received their due. These gentlemen were performing what was later coined Rock and Roll in the forties, along with the likes of Louis Jordan, who was really an originator. Most people reading this will have never heard of Louis Jordan, but back in the day he sold a hell of a lot of records. One thing that we can say about Mr. Penniman and that is he always has something to say...Shut Up!
Great list - Good Golly Miss Molly has always gotten me smiling and singing along.
I LOVE Little Richard. Especially when he says "Shut up!" LOL!
Happy TT!
My Thursday Thirteen #3
That was a very interesting TT. I do not think I ever read anything on him before now. Is he your hero?
Did he really say that at the Grammys? I'm impressed!
Good golly, that's a GREAT post.
Happy 75th Birthday to Little Richard!
Happy Thursday!
HA! I love quote number two the best. Little Richard has always been quite the character!
LOL- so that is where #13 originally started......I am up too!
Natural Beauty on duty. Too funny. He is a character for sure. Thanks for sharing this interesting list. Have a great TT
I love #12, tell it like it is. These quotes show that Little Richard was not a stupid person.
Great Thursday post! Come visit mine before everyone drinks it!
Holly: His autobiography, "The Life and Times of Little Richard" is one of the best that I've read. This is where I found some of the quotes that I used.
Candy: I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this TT so much! Some of these things I had forgotten until I started thumbing through his autobio late last night.
Lori: I don't know if you are a fan of Chuck Berry, but I highly recommend the DVD set "Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll". One of the discs has footage of Chuck, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard sitting/standing around a piano talking about the early days of rock and roll, their music, etc. Little Richard is in rare form. That is where I got a few of the quotes from (4, 5, 6, and 9).
Pjazzy: In the Chuck Berry doc that I mentioned above, he, Richard, and Bo are talking about the financial side of the music biz. When Chuck says that he majored in math, Richard responds by saying he majored in mouth. Classic stuff!
Robin: I was planning on listening to one of my Little Richard CDs on the way to work, but I was in too much of a hurry to grab it. I just put it in my bag so I'll have it on tomorrow's commute.
Shesawriter: I don't know if you have it, but the 3 CD Little Richard set "The Specialty Sessions" rocks!
Chelle: In answer to your question, Little Richard is one of my musical heroes. I've been a fan ever since I was a kid.
Nicholas: He most certainly did. I wish I could find the footage online, but no such luck.
Infinity: Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad you enjoyed the TT.
Barbara: One thing that I like about Little Richard is that he isn't shy about his sexuality.
The Mocha Mom: Others might use it (SHUT UP!), but no one can say it quite like Little Richard.
Greatfullivin: If you think it's funny reading it (Natural beauty on duty), it's even better hearing Little Richard say it. He just tosses it off so nonchalantly... he had Bo Diddley cracking up.
Jenny McB: You are right. Beneath the over the top persona and the posturing, Little Richard can be very profound.
Don't Make Me...: Thanks for paying me your first visit. Your invitation had be intrigued so I checked out your TT... I see what you mean.
Another interesting pop T13, he sure was 'interesting'. And LOVE your poll, YES I voted (go Grinch go).
I just heard on tv tonight that it was his birthday...I've always liked Little Richard, he's a character! LMAO @ #2 :-)
Happy TT! :) I'm sorry but I honestly don't know who this person is. LOL, I guess that makes me a bit of a dunce, but I've never heard of him.
Yep, Little Richard DOES have the best quotes. And you have to wonder why the public was so accepting of someone so out there (and out, period) at a time when it was a horrible thing to be. What makes him so special that we all love him anyway?
Other than the fact that even on a bad day, he out sings Pat Boone. Easily.
Good Golly what a list - Love it!
The Pink Flamingo
http://thepinkflamingo.blogharbor.com/blog
Some of those made me LAUGH OUT LOUD!!
Mine's up here!
Well, let's hear it for the queen of rock and roll!
I'd heard it was his birthday today. Hard to believe he's 75. WOW! Great list!
My Thursday Thirteen is up too! :)
LOL What a tribute! Happy TT!
Sounds like an intersting life, but I wouldn't want one like it. Too much...everything. Have a great TT. :)
Great job, and great list. I love Little Richard's music, too. I didn't realize he was quite that old. Didn't he do the song "My Ding-a-ling"? I remember singing that when I was a kid and, of course, we knew we were being naughty - that's just what he meant it to be!!
great TT!! I love little richard!!!!
http://bettythegeek.wordpress.com/
Works for Mom: Thanks for the kind words regarding this TT. As for the poll, The Grinch had an early lead... but Charlie Brown has been making a big push over the last 24 hours and is now in front.
Janet: I don't know when he said quote #2, but it made me laugh as well.
Morgan Leigh: If you have a pop culture card, you have to turn it in immediately, lol. You and Little Richard actually have a couple of things in common (he is from Georgia and has a deeply religious background). If you like 50s rock and roll, you should check some of his stuff out.
Susan: I'm sure that Little Richard could tell some interesting stories regarding treatment he received back in the day because of race and sexuality. Although he was popular, he never appeared on programs like "The Ed Sullivan Show" (where as a safer performer like Fats Domino did). I think that Little Richard's persona was too much for most of mainstream America back in the 50s.
S.J.: Glad you enjoyed it... I liked your "Good Golly" reference.
Secret Agent Mama: I was laughing quite a bit myself when I was putting together this list. I will pay your blog a visit when I get home this evening.
Sandy: After you say "Queen of Rock and Roll", you have to let out a loud "Woo!"... sorry, it's mandatory.
Natalie: Just think now, Little Richard is older than Ronald Reagan was during his 1st term in the White House.
Sandee: Admit it Sandee, wouldn't you have loved to have seen Janis Joplin leaping up and down screaming all over the stage?
Denise: Thanks! I am always glad to meet another Little Richard fan.
In answer to your question, Chuck Berry did the dirty ditty "My Ding-A-Ling". Although I think it's one of his weakest songs, it was also his only #1 pop hit (back in 1972). Go figure.
He's quite a character!! I just love the diamond toenails and ruby eyeballs comment!
Happy TT
Jessica The Rock Chick
LOVE Little Richard! Happy B-Day to him!!!
Oh, and thanks for the heads-up about the article in TV Guide about my TV-crush, Alex O'Loughlin!
And yes, Mickey Thomas usually is in Starship - I saw him last year at Epcot.
Happy TT-13
Smiles,
Holly
http://theabundanceplace.com
Elvis might be the king, but Little Richard is definitely one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. I don't know when he decided to be a founding mutha as well.
Love Little Richard...but the Janis quote just made me miss Janis even more.
he's a funny guy!
Thanks for visiting ours!
BN-Politics: 13 ways to improve blog traffic
A half sent for every record...SHUT UP indeed!
There will never be another like him.
Happy Thursday Malcolm :)
~Xakara <-----Please use this link
These are wonderful quotes by Little Richard. Everytime he sing, he make me smiles :)
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a good TTs
Julia - Yen
Love #7. I also love Little Richard's Geico commercial. Wish they'd run it again … Thanks for visiting my TT.
Jessica: That one had me cracking up also. I had forgotten that he was even married.
Holly: In regards to the heads up about Alex, not a problem. It's funny because right after I read your TT this week, I saw the TV Guide article on Alex.
Drilleraa: Although Little Richard has begun to get more credit over the years, I think there is still a ways to go.
Damozel: That quote about Janis came from Richard's autobio. Because I orig. read the book back when I was a teenager, I didn't remember that quote. I only wish that there was concert footage to go with the story.
Xakara: I think that record company execs should wear ski masks given all of the money they have robbed from artists over the years.
Julia: Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by and commenting.
The Gal Herself: I get a kick out of that commercial also. Along with Little Richard doing his thing, the expression on the Geico customer's face when Richard shouts "mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce, woo hoo!" is priceless. Here is the link to the Geico commercial:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Em-b0wQzQ-0
What a character! Look up "flamboyant" in the dictionary and you probably see a pic of Little Richard. :)
I love #1 the best, but he has said some pretty funny things too!
Thanks for visiting my animated movies TT.
My favorite Little Richard quote was something he said about Jimi Hendrix: "We didn't know he could play with his teeth."
Cindy: I just checked the American Heritage Dictionary website and they confirmed that the next edition will have a photo of Little Richard next to the word "flamboyant".
Tink: It is hard for me to decide which one of these quotes I like the best. The "natural beauty on duty", "Pat Boone rant", and "Janis Joplin" quotes are near the top of the list.
X. Dell: To see a legend such as Little Richard onstage with a soon-to-be legend like Hendrix had to have been cool as hell.
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