Posted on 11/24/2009 10:53:05 AM PST by a fool in paradise
Even those living legends who still rock are in need of a body tune-up every once in awhile. Little Richard, now 76, is recovering at a Vanderbilt University hospital after undergoing hip surgery. In a post to his official Myspace page, a spokesperson has said that although the surgery was successful, the veteran rocker is still in a lot of pain. "Please be praying for a quick and full recovery. He may have a long road ahead of him (i.e. physiotherapy) because he waited so long to have the surgery."
Little Richard, a long-time born-again Christian, is asking his fans to continue praying for him as he recovers. According to the Associated Press, he plans to resume touring activities in 2010, once his recovery is in full. "He is thankful to the LORD for the blessing of longevity and greatly appreciates the kindness and caring of all of the faithful warriors who have been uplifting him in prayer," the Myspace statement continued.
Little Richard has long been credited as one of the founders of what we now know as modern rock 'n' roll, when in the mid '50s, he explored a combination of blues, gospel and faster rhythms in songs such as 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Good Golly, Miss Molly.' Numerous influential musicians such as Bob Dylan, Otis Redding and Elvis Presley all attribute Little Richard as a primary influence in their defining work.
And let's not leave out Paul McCartney.
60 Minutes asked Little Richard what he thought of Prince. Little Richard said flat out; “Boy, was I ahead of my time.”
I work with an Engineer who met him on a plane - Little Richard witnessed to him, then gave him an autographed Bible (which, sadly, my friend has never read).
Little Richard is NOT a Homo - it's just part of his schtick (maybe effeminate, but that doesn't mean he's a homo).
He also washed dishes while he lived in Houston (he worked at the Shamrock Hotel which was also demolished, so they could put up a parking garage, and they put a park in where a parking garage had been).
He was “discovered” by Johnny Otis in Houston while he was singing in the next room at a restaurant. Otis had taken Big Mama Thornton to LA before that. (both had already started recording but he took them to LA where they got an upgrade on material and became famous)
Prayers on the way!
He supposedly did engage in some strange things which I won’t get into here (I hear he addresses them in his autobiography). And he’s felt guilty enough about his own actions and what he may be contributing to society that he dropped out of rock and roll several times (in the 1950s, in the 1960s, and in the 1970s) to become more religious in his own life.
And while his entourage passes out religious texts to people with pictures of Little Richard, I am unaware of any “signed” books or photos (there is a printed signature in the photo insert).
I was at a Deep Purple concert in ‘73 and for their encore they did “Lucille”. Brought down the house!!!
Keep A Knockin’ was a cover. A very good update. But the song had been recorded by Louis Jordon in the 1940s and went as far back as the mid-20s.
Louis Jordon is also uber cool!
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