Little Richard - the greatest of them all. RIP

It's no exaggeration to say that Little Richard, in his prime, was the most exciting live act I've ever seen. He toured the UK several times in the early sixties, not least when he came over with Sam Cooke in 1962 and I had the good fortune to meet them both backstage and get their autographs. If only I had had a camera!
Now he's died at the age of 87. It's a good age and until a few years ago he was still a great performer, if somewhat whimsical at times. His act could include anything from 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Long Tall Sally' - probably the best double sided record ever to be cut - to 'Incy Wincy Spider Climbed Up the Spout'. Richard Penniman will rightly receive many plaudits in obituaries over the next few days and I won't attempt to cover his amazing life story in detail here. In fact, you could do a lot worse than read Red Kelly's biographical entry on 'The B Side' from 2007.   https://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/04/little-richard-i-dont-know-what-youve.html?fbclid=IwAR1VV7GJM1hjfhYIigiYCqm8UEDAel30xp8RsWR4mvdjTF6uUm7Gw19FxQs
Richard was the original king (or queen) of rock and roll and the excitement he brought to his records and live performances was unmatched, even by the likes of Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. In the late fifties it was quite hard to get opportunities to hear his records unless you had enough money to buy them new,. I was too young to have that sort of cash, so much of my Little Richard education was gained at the local fair where the likes of 'Keep A Knocking', 'Ooh My Soul' and 'The Girl Can't Help It' were blasted through the speakers. A few years later, after his religious period, he returned to touring and I saw him several times in the UK and these visits continued sporadically for many years after that on 'Giants of Rock and Roll' package shows. Richard would never miss the opportunity to distribute religious pamphlets on these occasions.
There will never be another Little Richard: he broke down so many barriers in terms of race and sexual orientation as well as musically. His music will last forever and will never become stale. RIP Richard.
Here's the autograph I got at Tooting Granada in 1962, and, although not really an album artist, some of his early LPs, which I still play regularly to this day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ6SstTS4YY