Charles White's autobiography of Little Richard is the sort of upfront Rock and Roll memoir that all others should be judged by. Little Richard (or Richard Wayne Penniman to his family) is upfront about all his past exploits, eve though the book is from 1984, when he had gone back to the church, thus renouncing his old satyromaniacal ways, and especially his past homosexual experiences (although he swung both ways, and wasn't fussy). He wasn't just the king (and queen) of Rock and Roll, he also describes himself as a king of jacking off (while getting his titties sucked) and was heavily into voyeurism, mentioning various famous Rock and Roll stars along the way.
He has obviously had conflicting sides to his character all through his life, wanting to be a maniacal performer, putting on a better show than any of his supposed peers, indulging in (what some might say is) extreme behaviour with sex and drugs, while at the same time, believing in the Lord, being good to his family, and always carrying and quoting from the bible.
This (apart from his ground breaking early music) is what makes him such an interesting character, and l am sad to hear that he is not in the best of health at the moment. Mind you, he is not exactly a spring chicken any more (like us all), and is just about to turn 81 years of age.
One of the true greats, and for that, may the Lord make us eternally grateful.
toodle pip
No comments:
Post a Comment