Littte Richard

In my junior year of high school I met K——, a vivacious and intelligent young woman who has remained a dear friend for more than 50 years. She loved to talk and I loved talking with her. One of our recurring topics was popular music. She brought up Little Richard, and how he really impressed her. I knew who he was, of course, but at that time (1967) he was sort of out of fashion. I had heard the Beatles do his songs (Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey is one of Paul’s finest vocals), in an unabashed emulation of Richard’s style. My friend K—— mentioned that she had a copy of one of his early albums—it was belonged to her older brother—and she graciously lent it to me. My mind was blown. Years later, the band that I did sound for would do some of Little Richard’s hits, they were always a high point of the night.