Rock and roll pioneer Little Richard died last week at the age of 87. Richard (whose real name was Richard Penniman) had his first hit, Tutti Frutti, in 1955, followed by other hits including Long Tall Sally, Good Golly Miss Molly, Jenny Jenny, and Slippin' and Slidin'. He was a major influence on so many musicians who followed, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Joan Jett, Brian Wilson, Bette Midler, and Elton John. Which of the following is true about Little Richard?
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A. Little Richard was a presenter at the 1988 Grammy Awards, announcing the winner of the Best New Artist category. Richard, who had never won a Grammy, held up the envelope and said, “the best new artist is -- me!” After a standing ovation from the audience, he again held up the envelope and said, “and the winner is…still me! Being a brown Jew from Georgia, I had to tell the truth.”
B. Little Richard was one of the first musical heroes of Bob Dylan, who wrote in his high school senior yearbook that his life’s ambition was “to join ‘Little Richard’.” They met many times, and Little Richard was one of the main influences on Dylan’s decision to convert to Christianity in the late 1970’s. And oddly, it was Dylan who influenced Little Richard when Richard embraced Judaism in the mid-1980’s.
C. Shlomo Carlebach, the rabbi, composer, singer, and spiritual leader, began his singing career in Greenwich Village, where he met and worked together with Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger, among others. Dylan told “Reb Shlomo” about Richard and lent him some of his Little Richard albums. Carlebach later said, “I learned a lot about the importance of lyrics in music from Dylan, but I learned everything about the soul of music from Little Richard.”
D. At one point in his life, Little Richard converted to Judaism. One Friday in the 1980’s, Little Richard was recording with Paul Shaffer and Richard said he had to be done by 5pm because “It’s Shabbos and I’m an Orthodox Jew, have been for years. After sundown, I do no work.” The session ran a bit long, but Shaffer was able to show Little Richard that Shabbat didn’t actually start until 5:21pm that day. Little Richard told Shaffer, “Baby, you’re a better Jew than me.”
E. Little Richard was born and raised in Macon, Georgia. His family, like many black families in the south, had contact with the local Jewish community because many of the local businesses that served the black community were owned by Jewish immigrant families. As a child, Richard had already begun applying his musical and comedic talents when talking about his life, including referring to the local Jews as Heebie Jeebies. He eventually used that phrase in one of his first songs, Heeby-Jeebies, though the song had nothing to do with Jews.