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Rock ‘n’ roll legend Little Richard celebrates his 80th birthday today. He was born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia, on December 5, 1932.

Little Richard is rightly considered one of the founding fathers of rock ‘n’ roll. Drawing inspiration from gospel and blues artists, such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Marion Williams, and Billy Wright, Richard developed a vocal style and electrifying piano technique that would make him one of the most powerful of the early rock ‘n’ roll performers. His breakthrough hit, “Tutti Frutti,” with its unforgettable “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom!” intro, was one of the landmark rock ‘n’ roll recordings.

“Tutti Frutti” – Little Richard

Litte Richard was at his commercial peak over the next couple of years, scoring a further seventeen hit singles, including three that topped the charts. Among these were the classics “Long Tall Sally,” “Rip It Up,” “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” “Ready Teddy,” and “Keep A-Knockin'”. Hollywood also came calling in this period, and Richard featured in the movies “The Girl Can’t Help It,” “Don’t Knock the Rock (1956),” and “Mister Rock and Roll”.

“Long Tall Sally” – Little Richard

After a tour of Australia in 1957, Richard surprised the world by announcing that he was retiring from rock ‘n’ roll to become an evangelical minister. Over the next few years, his recorded output was restricted to gospel material, some of which crossed over to the pop charts, but only with moderate success.

Richard’s return to secular music began with a tour of Britain in 1962, with Sam Cooke as the joint headliner and the Beatles as the opening act.

The Beatles and Little Richard

A popular UK television special followed in 1964, with Richard backed by Sounds Incorporated. The rest of the decade saw him release some fine rock and soul material, but never recapturing the success of his early years. He was always in demand as a concert performer though, and made some interesting and creative recording choices in the early 1970s.

The remainder of the decade saw Richard escalate his partying ways, before returning to evangelism in the late 1970s and once again questioning the compatibility of his religious beliefs and rock ‘n’ roll music. The 1986 recording “Great Gosh A’Mighty (It’s a Matter of Time)” for the soundtrack of the movie “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” was a successful effort to merge these two important aspects of his life, and in reaching #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 it was his biggest hit since 1958. Shortly afterwards he became one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Over the last 20 years, Richard continued to record, tour and make occasional appearances in music videos. movies and television shows. He remains an explosive singer.

Happy 80th Birthday Little Richard.