Charles Connor, drummer for Little Richard, dies at age 86

Charles Connor, known for being Little Richard’s drummer who performed with other music greats including James Brown and Sam Cooke, has died. He was 86.

Connor’s daughter, Queenie Connor Sonnefeld, said her father died peacefully in his sleep early Saturday while under hospice care at his home in Glendale, California. She said her father had been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain disorder that causes fluid buildup.

Connor Sonnefeld called the drummer a “great father” who was always positive and a person who never gave up on his dreams.

Make it Sound Like a Train: An Oral History with Charles Connor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa8_YcPOZsI

Charles Connor, a New Orleanian, laid down some of rock and roll’s foundational beats as the drummer in Little Richard’s band. He went on to bring the funk behind James Brown. In 2017, he spoke to David Kunian about his career at the Ponderosa Stomp Music History Conference.

(1:00)
Music in Connor’s childhood in the French Quarter in the 1940s

(3:00)
Connor’s first gig, with Professor Longhair in 1950, and his influences

(6:45)
Forming the Upsetters to play behind Little Richard in 1953

(11:30)
Creating foundational beats of rock and roll on Little Richard’s records

(17:20)
Reflections on Little Richard, including the plane ride that sent him into retirement in 1957

(21:50)
Catching on with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and the Coasters

(24:50)
Playing with James Brown, using a second line beat to “put the funk into the rhythm”

(30:00)
Showing the great Earl Palmer how Little Richard wanted his drummer to sound

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