1
00:00:00,633 --> 00:00:26,633
♪♪

2
00:00:26,633 --> 00:00:28,766
-Ready?

3
00:00:28,766 --> 00:00:30,233
-♪ Well, it -- ♪
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

4
00:00:30,233 --> 00:00:32,100
It's me. One, two.

5
00:00:32,100 --> 00:00:34,166
Jesus!

6
00:00:34,166 --> 00:00:36,166
I messed up.

7
00:00:36,166 --> 00:00:38,500
Oh, Lord, take care of me.

8
00:00:38,500 --> 00:00:40,100
-Do you want to rest a while,
Rich?

9
00:00:40,100 --> 00:00:42,366
-I'll do it this time.
I got it. I'll feel my way.

10
00:00:42,366 --> 00:00:43,833
♪♪

11
00:00:43,833 --> 00:00:46,400
-Take two.
-Ready!

12
00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,300
-Okay. Let's go.

13
00:00:48,300 --> 00:00:50,633
-♪ Wop bop a loo bop,
a lop bom bom ♪

14
00:00:50,633 --> 00:00:57,233
♪ Tutti frutti, oh, rootie ♪

15
00:00:57,233 --> 00:00:58,500
-You can't help but move.

16
00:00:58,500 --> 00:00:59,933
-♪ Tutti frutti, oh, rootie ♪

17
00:00:59,933 --> 00:01:04,000
-Back in the '50s, we'd never
seen anything like that.

18
00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,066
-♪ A-wop bop a loo bop,
a lop bom bom ♪

19
00:01:06,066 --> 00:01:11,733
-Like, the Beatles -- you know,
he was a huge influence on us.

20
00:01:11,733 --> 00:01:13,700
-Fantastic.

21
00:01:13,700 --> 00:01:16,833
The beat, man, and the feel.

22
00:01:16,833 --> 00:01:19,000
Richard was creating
something new.

23
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:20,400
-Roll it again!

24
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,133
♪ Well, it's Saturday night,
and I just got paid ♪

25
00:01:23,133 --> 00:01:24,600
♪ Fool about my money ♪

26
00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,566
-When Little Richard
started making those records,

27
00:01:27,566 --> 00:01:30,233
it was like taking the best acid
in the world, you know?

28
00:01:30,233 --> 00:01:32,266
[ Chuckles ]

29
00:01:32,266 --> 00:01:34,566
-♪ I'm gonna rip it up ♪

30
00:01:34,566 --> 00:01:37,433
-Watching him, I mean,
that's how the Rolling Stones

31
00:01:37,433 --> 00:01:39,566
became the Rolling Stones.

32
00:01:39,566 --> 00:01:43,566
-♪ And ball tonight ♪

33
00:01:43,566 --> 00:01:46,100
-When Richard
started to perform,

34
00:01:46,100 --> 00:01:47,666
you can see he was a queer kid.

35
00:01:47,666 --> 00:01:51,133
-♪ I woke up this mornin',
Lucille was not in sight ♪

36
00:01:51,133 --> 00:01:54,366
♪ I asked my friends about her,
but all their lips were tight ♪

37
00:01:54,366 --> 00:01:56,300
-With all this makeup on,

38
00:01:56,300 --> 00:01:58,733
updo hairstyles, all of that.

39
00:01:58,733 --> 00:02:01,933
-♪ Satisfy my heart ♪

40
00:02:01,933 --> 00:02:03,600
-He was a pioneer.

41
00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,833
-♪ And gave you
such a wonderful start ♪

42
00:02:06,833 --> 00:02:11,066
♪♪

43
00:02:11,066 --> 00:02:12,900
-And so he just kept coming.

44
00:02:12,900 --> 00:02:16,733
♪♪

45
00:02:16,733 --> 00:02:19,233
-For a long, long time,

46
00:02:19,233 --> 00:02:24,333
Little Richard was the top of
the sort of artist food chain.

47
00:02:24,333 --> 00:02:27,500
[ Cheers and applause ]

48
00:02:27,500 --> 00:02:29,333
He was one of those artists

49
00:02:29,333 --> 00:02:34,800
that carved out that path
for others to walk down.

50
00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,266
-Let it all hang out!

51
00:02:37,266 --> 00:02:39,666
[ Cheers and applause ]

52
00:02:39,666 --> 00:02:41,833
With the beautiful
Little Richard

53
00:02:41,833 --> 00:02:45,133
from down in Macon, Georgia!

54
00:02:45,133 --> 00:02:49,266
I want you all know that I am
the king of rock 'n' roll!

55
00:02:49,266 --> 00:02:51,266
[ Cheers and applause ]

56
00:02:51,266 --> 00:02:55,633
♪♪

57
00:02:55,633 --> 00:02:58,833
-He had to stand up
for hisself...

58
00:02:58,833 --> 00:03:02,166
because of the music industry.

59
00:03:02,166 --> 00:03:04,200
They just never
gave him his flowers.

60
00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:09,400
♪♪

61
00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,500
-Would you welcome
Little Richard?

62
00:03:11,500 --> 00:03:12,700
-And here he is.

63
00:03:12,700 --> 00:03:14,066
[ Cheers and applause ]

64
00:03:14,066 --> 00:03:17,033
-Shut up! [ Laughs ]

65
00:03:17,033 --> 00:03:20,666
-What a life you have had.

66
00:03:20,666 --> 00:03:22,833
-See, I was rockin'
all the time.

67
00:03:22,833 --> 00:03:25,900
Then my spirit start rollin'.
That's where it came from.

68
00:03:25,900 --> 00:03:28,833
-You said you turned away
from the "devil's music."

69
00:03:28,833 --> 00:03:30,533
-What shall it profit a man

70
00:03:30,533 --> 00:03:32,300
if he should gain
the whole world

71
00:03:32,300 --> 00:03:33,933
and lose his own soul?

72
00:03:33,933 --> 00:03:36,333
-I believe you're the only
person who ever claimed to be

73
00:03:36,333 --> 00:03:38,800
both the king and the queen
of rock 'n' roll.

74
00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:40,233
-They said that I was,

75
00:03:40,233 --> 00:03:42,433
and I wasn't refusing
not one title.

76
00:03:42,433 --> 00:03:44,466
[ Laughter ]

77
00:03:54,433 --> 00:03:56,033
[ Siren wails ]

78
00:03:56,033 --> 00:04:08,000
♪♪

79
00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,300
-Richard, do you have,
like, a favorite side?

80
00:04:10,300 --> 00:04:13,433
-Yes, this is my little side.

81
00:04:13,433 --> 00:04:15,366
And this is my big side.

82
00:04:15,366 --> 00:04:17,733
I like both of them.
[ Laughs ]

83
00:04:17,733 --> 00:04:20,033
-At that point in his life,

84
00:04:20,033 --> 00:04:22,966
Richard wasn't playing
rock 'n' roll.

85
00:04:22,966 --> 00:04:25,066
-That's gonna be good.
-[ Laughs ]

86
00:04:25,066 --> 00:04:26,433
-We were very, very close
friends.

87
00:04:26,433 --> 00:04:32,000
I met Richard, um,
in Los Angeles in the '70s

88
00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,066
and became part of his band.

89
00:04:35,066 --> 00:04:37,233
We bonded.

90
00:04:37,233 --> 00:04:41,466
-Your eyes may shine,
your teeth may grit...

91
00:04:41,466 --> 00:04:43,466
but none of my suns
you will get.

92
00:04:43,466 --> 00:04:44,666
[ Laughs ]

93
00:04:44,666 --> 00:04:47,066
[ Indistinct conversations ]

94
00:04:47,066 --> 00:04:50,800
-Years later,
I would go visit him.

95
00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,666
He was living at a hotel
on Sunset Boulevard.

96
00:04:54,666 --> 00:04:57,866
With a spiral staircase
and all of that.

97
00:04:57,866 --> 00:05:00,600
I'd go to the lobby
and hang out,

98
00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:05,166
and then Richard would come down
from the elevator.

99
00:05:05,166 --> 00:05:07,166
And there's people in the lobby,
and they'd say,

100
00:05:07,166 --> 00:05:10,000
"That's Little Richard."
He'd say, "Oh, hey, baby!"

101
00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:11,966
And he was waving at everybody.

102
00:05:11,966 --> 00:05:13,766
And he would embrace people,

103
00:05:13,766 --> 00:05:15,700
and they would ask him
to sign autographs.

104
00:05:15,700 --> 00:05:17,900
And he would sign autographs.
So we'll get through that.

105
00:05:17,900 --> 00:05:20,033
Then the driver would come.

106
00:05:20,033 --> 00:05:22,833
He would just want to ride.

107
00:05:22,833 --> 00:05:25,066
♪♪

108
00:05:25,066 --> 00:05:28,133
-♪ Good golly, Miss Molly ♪

109
00:05:28,133 --> 00:05:30,266
♪ Sure like to ball ♪

110
00:05:30,266 --> 00:05:33,933
♪ Ooh, good golly, Miss Molly ♪

111
00:05:33,933 --> 00:05:36,500
♪ Sure like to ball ♪

112
00:05:36,500 --> 00:05:39,533
♪ When you're rockin'
and a-rollin' ♪

113
00:05:39,533 --> 00:05:41,733
♪
Can't hear your mama call 
♪

114
00:05:41,733 --> 00:05:43,800
♪
Ahh♪

115
00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:45,533
♪♪

116
00:05:45,533 --> 00:05:50,000
-The conversation along the road
could be about anything.

117
00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,300
We'd talk about his life,
you know,

118
00:05:53,300 --> 00:05:54,600
the beginning of rock 'n' roll.

119
00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:56,200
-♪ When you're rockin'
and a-rollin' ♪

120
00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,300
-When I came on the scene,
there wasn't no rock 'n' roll.

121
00:05:59,300 --> 00:06:02,000
Everybody was playing blues.
You know?

122
00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,133
♪ Dun-dun, dun, dun ♪

123
00:06:04,133 --> 00:06:07,066
♪ Dun-dun, dun, dun,
dun-dun ♪

124
00:06:07,066 --> 00:06:09,733
That's -- Every blues singer
in the country was doing that.

125
00:06:09,733 --> 00:06:12,466
And I got tired of --
♪ Dun-dun, dun, dun ♪

126
00:06:12,466 --> 00:06:15,633
You know,
I created rock 'n' roll.

127
00:06:15,633 --> 00:06:17,633
Didn't even know
what I was doing.

128
00:06:17,633 --> 00:06:19,666
♪♪

129
00:06:19,666 --> 00:06:22,033
-My experience with Richard

130
00:06:22,033 --> 00:06:26,033
was that he was always
trying to tell his story.

131
00:06:26,033 --> 00:06:29,533
Richard, he wanted to be heard.

132
00:06:29,533 --> 00:06:33,200
It was because
of what he's been through.

133
00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,066
He was there in the beginning.

134
00:06:36,066 --> 00:06:39,733
His story is the story
of rock 'n' roll.

135
00:06:39,733 --> 00:06:41,500
[ Bell tolls ]

136
00:06:41,500 --> 00:06:42,833
♪♪

137
00:06:42,833 --> 00:06:45,933
He was born in Georgia.
Macon, I believe.

138
00:06:45,933 --> 00:06:54,233
♪♪

139
00:06:54,233 --> 00:06:55,866
He's in the South, so, you know,

140
00:06:55,866 --> 00:07:01,033
there's the Jim Crow stuff,
you know, segregation.

141
00:07:01,033 --> 00:07:02,766
But Richard would say

142
00:07:02,766 --> 00:07:04,800
when he was, you know,
10 years old...

143
00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:05,966
[ Children giggling ]

144
00:07:05,966 --> 00:07:09,433
...he wasn't aware
of stuff like that.

145
00:07:09,433 --> 00:07:11,000
-I'm from a little country town

146
00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:14,533
where you see the chickens
are all over the yard.

147
00:07:14,533 --> 00:07:16,300
You know, it's like
a little country town.

148
00:07:16,300 --> 00:07:18,766
[ Indistinct singing ]

149
00:07:18,766 --> 00:07:20,133
And you would hear people

150
00:07:20,133 --> 00:07:21,966
singing all over
the neighborhood.

151
00:07:21,966 --> 00:07:23,733
[ Indistinct singing ]

152
00:07:23,733 --> 00:07:31,500
♪♪

153
00:07:31,500 --> 00:07:35,166
-And then late at night, I would
run down the street singing.

154
00:07:35,166 --> 00:07:38,400
Everybody wanted to kill me
in the neighborhood.

155
00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,900
Um, left at the next corner.

156
00:07:41,900 --> 00:07:46,000
But it was really, really
something.

157
00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,166
And I used to play the piano
every Sunday, you know --

158
00:07:48,166 --> 00:07:50,233
♪ Gimme that old-time ♪

159
00:07:50,233 --> 00:07:52,066
♪ Talking about religion ♪

160
00:07:52,066 --> 00:07:55,233
♪
Gimme that old-time religion 
♪

161
00:07:55,233 --> 00:07:58,066
♪
Religion that it used to be 
♪

162
00:07:58,066 --> 00:08:01,366
-One thing that always strikes
me about Little Richard --

163
00:08:01,366 --> 00:08:04,600
when he would talk
about his hometown,

164
00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,000
two of the themes
that always came out

165
00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,266
were religion and music.

166
00:08:10,266 --> 00:08:12,733
Every Black community
in the South

167
00:08:12,733 --> 00:08:15,733
had a church on every corner.

168
00:08:15,733 --> 00:08:17,900
-♪ You gotta be set free ♪

169
00:08:17,900 --> 00:08:20,466
♪ Yeaaah! ♪

170
00:08:20,466 --> 00:08:23,500
♪♪

171
00:08:23,500 --> 00:08:26,966
-In those churches, you know,
they would improvise.

172
00:08:26,966 --> 00:08:30,800
They played loudly, to be heard.

173
00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:35,200
People are singing
with their feelings.

174
00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,466
-There's a lot of Black churches
that play gospel music.

175
00:08:38,466 --> 00:08:40,400
You can't tell it
from rock 'n' roll

176
00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:44,100
'cause the Black churches
are so rhythmy.

177
00:08:44,100 --> 00:08:46,166
You go into some Black churches,
they have a better band

178
00:08:46,166 --> 00:08:48,333
than I ever had
in rock 'n' roll!

179
00:08:48,333 --> 00:08:52,033
-[ Singing indistinctly ]

180
00:08:52,033 --> 00:08:54,100
-Before there was
a rock 'n' roll,

181
00:08:54,100 --> 00:08:55,900
those churches were rocking.

182
00:08:55,900 --> 00:08:57,500
♪♪

183
00:08:57,500 --> 00:08:59,033
-When I was a little boy,
I said,

184
00:08:59,033 --> 00:09:00,833
"One day, I'm gonna do that."

185
00:09:00,833 --> 00:09:04,500
♪♪

186
00:09:04,500 --> 00:09:08,500
And so I was singing
gospel music every day.

187
00:09:08,500 --> 00:09:10,833
I always liked women singers.

188
00:09:10,833 --> 00:09:13,000
I liked the way
the ladies sing high.

189
00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:14,866
And I loved Mahalia Jackson,

190
00:09:14,866 --> 00:09:17,733
Sister Rosetta Tharpe,
and the Clara Ward Singers.

191
00:09:17,733 --> 00:09:19,633
-♪ Gettin' ready to go ♪
-♪ Whoooo! ♪

192
00:09:19,633 --> 00:09:21,433
-I'd be like -- ♪ Oooh ♪

193
00:09:21,433 --> 00:09:23,300
You know?
I wanted to be like that.

194
00:09:23,300 --> 00:09:25,200
-♪ Packin' up ♪
-♪ Gettin' ready to go ♪

195
00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:27,266
-♪ Gettin' ready to go ♪
-♪ Gettin' ready to go ♪

196
00:09:27,266 --> 00:09:29,366
-♪ Packin' up, ooh, Lord ♪
-♪ Packin' up, packin' up ♪

197
00:09:29,366 --> 00:09:31,166
-♪ Lord, oh, Lord ♪
-♪ Packin' up, packin' up ♪

198
00:09:31,166 --> 00:09:32,933
-♪ Packin' up, packin' up ♪

199
00:09:32,933 --> 00:09:36,300
-♪ Whooo-ooh! ♪
-♪ Packin' up, packin' up ♪

200
00:09:36,300 --> 00:09:37,566
-♪ Whoo-hoo-ooh! ♪

201
00:09:37,566 --> 00:09:39,100
-Absolutely.

202
00:09:39,100 --> 00:09:44,100
You can hear in that,
of course, the famous "Whoo!"

203
00:09:44,100 --> 00:09:47,433
So even all those early on

204
00:09:47,433 --> 00:09:51,500
gospel songs like that went --

205
00:09:51,500 --> 00:09:55,033
♪ Nuh-nuh-nuh, nuh, nuh-nuh ♪
That's what they're doing.

206
00:09:55,033 --> 00:09:56,600
And Richard took it to be --

207
00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:00,700
♪ Nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh,
nuh, nuh, nuh ♪

208
00:10:00,700 --> 00:10:04,333
He made it rock 'n' roll.
With the higher voice.

209
00:10:04,333 --> 00:10:08,566
-♪ Whoo, come back, baby ♪
-♪ Come back, baby ♪

210
00:10:08,566 --> 00:10:10,900
-♪ Don't leave me here ♪
-♪ Don't leave me here ♪

211
00:10:10,900 --> 00:10:12,866
You could hear
I took all those little things

212
00:10:12,866 --> 00:10:14,600
that I had from a little boy,

213
00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:16,933
and I just put them together
and made the songs.

214
00:10:16,933 --> 00:10:18,100
-♪ Don't disappear ♪

215
00:10:18,100 --> 00:10:20,066
-♪ Yes, true fine mama ♪

216
00:10:20,066 --> 00:10:21,366
[ Click ]

217
00:10:21,366 --> 00:10:26,133
When I was a boy,
I knew that I was different.

218
00:10:26,133 --> 00:10:30,200
-Richard Penniman
came from a huge family.

219
00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,900
His mother eventually had
a dozen children.

220
00:10:33,900 --> 00:10:38,433
And his family described him
as being trouble.

221
00:10:38,433 --> 00:10:41,400
♪♪

222
00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:43,866
-I was so flamboyant.

223
00:10:43,866 --> 00:10:45,533
You know, I was wearing
my mother's makeup

224
00:10:45,533 --> 00:10:49,633
and lipstick, everything
all over me.

225
00:10:49,633 --> 00:10:51,633
-Even as a young boy,

226
00:10:51,633 --> 00:10:53,633
he's developing a style

227
00:10:53,633 --> 00:10:55,933
that didn't play by the rules.

228
00:10:55,933 --> 00:10:58,000
♪♪

229
00:10:58,000 --> 00:10:59,700
-I used to play house
with my cousins

230
00:10:59,700 --> 00:11:03,700
and I wanted to be the mama,
you know?

231
00:11:03,700 --> 00:11:07,033
The girls loved you,
but the boys hated you.

232
00:11:07,033 --> 00:11:10,000
They'd call me "sissy," "punk,"
"freak," "faggot."

233
00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:11,900
And they used to
want to fight you.

234
00:11:11,900 --> 00:11:14,100
♪♪

235
00:11:14,100 --> 00:11:18,900
And so I had my first experience
with a boy.

236
00:11:18,900 --> 00:11:21,500
I told my mother.

237
00:11:21,500 --> 00:11:23,400
And she used to tell me to hush.

238
00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,466
♪♪

239
00:11:25,466 --> 00:11:31,033
-In the 1940s,
homosexuality is a crime.

240
00:11:31,033 --> 00:11:32,633
-Most Americans are repelled

241
00:11:32,633 --> 00:11:34,766
by the mere notion
of homosexuality.

242
00:11:34,766 --> 00:11:38,100
A vast majority believe that
homosexuality is an illness.

243
00:11:38,100 --> 00:11:40,833
♪♪

244
00:11:40,833 --> 00:11:44,233
-My grandfather was a preacher.

245
00:11:44,233 --> 00:11:46,300
My daddy, he said
he wanted seven boys

246
00:11:46,300 --> 00:11:49,900
and I was messing it up
because I was gay.

247
00:11:49,900 --> 00:11:52,200
♪♪

248
00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,500
Right at the light.
That's it.

249
00:11:55,500 --> 00:11:59,633
You know, so I was always
considered a bad boy.

250
00:12:01,700 --> 00:12:04,766
-Back in the '70s,
sometimes on the road

251
00:12:04,766 --> 00:12:10,233
he would come see me in my room,
and we would talk.

252
00:12:10,233 --> 00:12:15,066
I never forgot what he told me
about his dad.

253
00:12:15,066 --> 00:12:18,133
When he saw his son dressed

254
00:12:18,133 --> 00:12:22,100
with a wig on,
with makeup on,

255
00:12:22,100 --> 00:12:24,800
he tied him down and beat him.

256
00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:28,800
♪♪

257
00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:32,333
Beat him until
he'd go unconscious.

258
00:12:32,333 --> 00:12:35,766
♪♪

259
00:12:35,766 --> 00:12:39,533
But Richard said
it didn't faze him.

260
00:12:39,533 --> 00:12:43,366
He did his own thing
regardless of his dad.

261
00:12:43,366 --> 00:12:45,600
No one could tell him.

262
00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:50,066
He would say,
"Be what you want to be."

263
00:12:50,066 --> 00:12:51,866
And that --
To me, I admired him.

264
00:12:51,866 --> 00:12:53,933
I still do admire him for that.

265
00:12:53,933 --> 00:12:56,500
♪♪

266
00:12:56,500 --> 00:12:58,266
-My daddy, he put me out.

267
00:12:58,266 --> 00:13:00,266
He told me I had to do
what he wanted me to do

268
00:13:00,266 --> 00:13:02,566
or else get out,
and so I didn't do what he said,

269
00:13:02,566 --> 00:13:04,466
I got out.

270
00:13:04,466 --> 00:13:06,066
♪♪

271
00:13:06,066 --> 00:13:07,966
-He left home,

272
00:13:07,966 --> 00:13:12,400
but his whole life he wanted
to be accepted by his dad,

273
00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,100
but his dad ended up dying
before that happened.

274
00:13:16,100 --> 00:13:17,866
[ Thunder rumbles ]

275
00:13:17,866 --> 00:13:20,866
His father got in an argument
with one of Richard's friends.

276
00:13:20,866 --> 00:13:22,566
The guy shot him.

277
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,333
His friend killed his dad.

278
00:13:28,333 --> 00:13:31,333
I can only imagine, you know,
what it was like

279
00:13:31,333 --> 00:13:34,100
in terms of that guilt.

280
00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:37,533
Inside of him, there was
something always fighting.

281
00:13:39,066 --> 00:13:42,366
-You're listening
to KCRW 89.9 FM.

282
00:13:42,366 --> 00:13:45,866
My name is Tom Schnabel.
-And I'm Roger Steffens.

283
00:13:45,866 --> 00:13:48,766
-Welcome to KCRW, Richard.
-Oh, I'm so glad to be here.

284
00:13:48,766 --> 00:13:50,800
I'm just speechless. I just --

285
00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,033
I got to just get --
♪ Whoo! ♪

286
00:13:53,033 --> 00:13:55,533
-♪ Whoo! ♪
-As well as Charles White...

287
00:13:55,533 --> 00:13:56,900
-Whoo-wee!
-...who is the author

288
00:13:56,900 --> 00:13:58,700
of a brand-new book called

289
00:13:58,700 --> 00:14:01,300
"Little Richard:
The Quasar of Rock."

290
00:14:01,300 --> 00:14:05,633
-When I started
to write his life story,

291
00:14:05,633 --> 00:14:08,566
he used to say,
"Dr. Rock, I'm omnisexual."

292
00:14:08,566 --> 00:14:10,166
[ Laughs ]

293
00:14:10,166 --> 00:14:15,533
Because, really, he was torn --
torn by it.

294
00:14:15,533 --> 00:14:17,666
-Now, listen, do we
call you "Little" or
do we call you "Richard"?

295
00:14:17,666 --> 00:14:21,300
-Oh, whatever is
suitable and fitting.

296
00:14:21,300 --> 00:14:25,600
-Sexuality was
a dilemma for him.

297
00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:29,166
But it wouldn't be obvious.

298
00:14:29,166 --> 00:14:32,100
-You know, my first impression
is you're not little at all.

299
00:14:32,100 --> 00:14:34,100
-Oh, no.
-I don't mean you're overweight,

300
00:14:34,100 --> 00:14:35,366
but, I mean, you are tall.

301
00:14:35,366 --> 00:14:38,233
-Oh. Everything is big,
I must admit. [ Laughs ]

302
00:14:38,233 --> 00:14:40,600
-He has great -- great humor
and great fun.

303
00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,800
-[ Laughter ]
-What does that mean?

304
00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:45,633
-[ Grunts ]

305
00:14:45,633 --> 00:14:47,233
[ Laughs ]

306
00:14:47,233 --> 00:14:51,066
Alright.
They're all Little Richard.

307
00:14:51,066 --> 00:14:54,833
I interviewed him for the book.

308
00:14:54,833 --> 00:14:57,666
He always wanted to be
a great musician.

309
00:14:57,666 --> 00:15:00,633
♪♪

310
00:15:00,633 --> 00:15:04,133
But, really,
he wanted to be accepted.

311
00:15:04,133 --> 00:15:07,733
♪♪

312
00:15:07,733 --> 00:15:09,633
[ Click ]

313
00:15:09,633 --> 00:15:13,966
-So, I left my hometown
when I was 14,

314
00:15:13,966 --> 00:15:15,533
and that's when it all started.

315
00:15:15,533 --> 00:15:18,800
♪♪

316
00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:21,666
I joined a show called
The Broadway Follies.

317
00:15:21,666 --> 00:15:25,700
To me, they was the nicest
people I'd ever met.

318
00:15:25,700 --> 00:15:27,866
I became their vocalist.

319
00:15:27,866 --> 00:15:32,000
And they changed my name
to Little Richard.

320
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,600
-Little Richard came up

321
00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:37,633
through the Chitlin' Circuit
like I did.

322
00:15:37,633 --> 00:15:40,433
Let me explain Chitlin' Circuit.

323
00:15:40,433 --> 00:15:46,000
At that time, all across
the South, it was segregated.

324
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,500
And so if you were Black,
you had the Chitlin' Circuit.

325
00:15:49,500 --> 00:15:51,966
♪♪

326
00:15:51,966 --> 00:15:53,533
It got its name

327
00:15:53,533 --> 00:15:58,333
because they always served
the inside of a pig, a hog,

328
00:15:58,333 --> 00:16:01,266
the chitlin', the guts.

329
00:16:01,266 --> 00:16:03,966
And so everybody
was eating chitlins

330
00:16:03,966 --> 00:16:06,533
in joints like this
we're sitting in now.

331
00:16:06,533 --> 00:16:08,900
-You know, my mama told me
to leave Caldonia alone.

332
00:16:08,900 --> 00:16:10,666
That's what she told me.
No kidding.

333
00:16:10,666 --> 00:16:12,533
Louis Jordan, "Caldonia."

334
00:16:12,533 --> 00:16:14,000
I sung that song every night

335
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,066
'cause I didn't know
no other song but that song.

336
00:16:16,066 --> 00:16:19,233
♪ Caldonia, Caldonia ♪

337
00:16:19,233 --> 00:16:21,800
♪ What make your big head
so hard? ♪

338
00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:25,633
♪♪

339
00:16:25,633 --> 00:16:28,200
I thought I was famous then.

340
00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,433
But there wasn't nobody
screaming over me but me.

341
00:16:32,433 --> 00:16:34,500
-I remember Little Richard
and I --

342
00:16:34,500 --> 00:16:35,833
Oh, this story.

343
00:16:35,833 --> 00:16:37,266
When I came off the stage,

344
00:16:37,266 --> 00:16:39,466
it was his time because
he was starting the show.

345
00:16:39,466 --> 00:16:42,133
He said, "Bobby Rush,
don't go nowhere.

346
00:16:42,133 --> 00:16:43,866
Stand right there."

347
00:16:43,866 --> 00:16:47,766
He said, "Ladies and gentlemen,

348
00:16:47,766 --> 00:16:51,033
I want to tell you something
about this man here."

349
00:16:51,033 --> 00:16:55,900
Oh, I got my chest stuck out.
I'm waiting for the glory.

350
00:16:55,900 --> 00:17:00,466
He said,
"Myself and Bobby Rush...

351
00:17:00,466 --> 00:17:03,433
we are the prettiest men
in the world."

352
00:17:03,433 --> 00:17:05,166
[ Laughs ]

353
00:17:05,166 --> 00:17:08,033
And I did like this. I said...
[ Laughs ]

354
00:17:10,900 --> 00:17:13,666
He thought he was the
best-looking man in the world.

355
00:17:13,666 --> 00:17:16,233
You know?

356
00:17:16,233 --> 00:17:20,100
But one thing he had was talent.

357
00:17:20,100 --> 00:17:24,466
♪♪

358
00:17:24,466 --> 00:17:27,200
So, we would do the show,
get up the next morning,

359
00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:28,933
and go to the next town.

360
00:17:28,933 --> 00:17:34,266
♪♪

361
00:17:34,266 --> 00:17:36,900
If you come to New Orleans,
you play the Dew Drop, man.

362
00:17:36,900 --> 00:17:39,100
[ Laughs ]

363
00:17:39,100 --> 00:17:42,400
When you went
to the Dew Drop, man,

364
00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:45,233
it was like Carnegie Hall
in New York, man.

365
00:17:45,233 --> 00:17:48,433
You was, like, in heaven, man.
It was it.

366
00:17:48,433 --> 00:17:50,500
-The Dew Drop Inn.

367
00:17:50,500 --> 00:17:55,433
Well, this was the hippest place
to play in town.

368
00:17:55,433 --> 00:17:57,366
Little Richard came in here,

369
00:17:57,366 --> 00:18:01,566
and one time,
I was his opening act.

370
00:18:01,566 --> 00:18:05,966
Richard was
a really flamboyant dresser

371
00:18:05,966 --> 00:18:10,066
with glamorous suits
and ties that he wore

372
00:18:10,066 --> 00:18:13,466
with the hair up,
with the bouffant.

373
00:18:13,466 --> 00:18:15,300
-It was quite popular
in those days for men

374
00:18:15,300 --> 00:18:17,033
to wear their hair like that.

375
00:18:17,033 --> 00:18:19,766
So I just took it
a step farther,

376
00:18:19,766 --> 00:18:24,200
put mine a few inches higher
than everybody else.

377
00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,200
I was the only guy
wearing eyelashes.

378
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:28,100
I was the only man
wearing makeup.

379
00:18:28,100 --> 00:18:30,033
-You know,
a lot of people thought

380
00:18:30,033 --> 00:18:32,633
he's some wild and crazy guy.

381
00:18:32,633 --> 00:18:35,666
But, you know, everybody
from all walks of life

382
00:18:35,666 --> 00:18:38,233
came into a place
like the Dew Drop.

383
00:18:38,233 --> 00:18:42,766
We had doctors, lawyers,
pimps, prostitutes,

384
00:18:42,766 --> 00:18:48,533
rich, poor, you know,
LGBT, you name it.

385
00:18:48,533 --> 00:18:51,233
Even the emcee, Patsy,

386
00:18:51,233 --> 00:18:54,233
she was a female impersonator.

387
00:18:54,233 --> 00:18:56,933
And Patsy might come out
in a big gown

388
00:18:56,933 --> 00:18:58,900
with can-can slips

389
00:18:58,900 --> 00:19:00,633
and said,
"Good evening, darlings.

390
00:19:00,633 --> 00:19:02,300
Welcome to the Dew Drop."

391
00:19:02,300 --> 00:19:05,700
And Patsy would lift up
the evening gown and said,

392
00:19:05,700 --> 00:19:07,633
"Come on and get the rest."

393
00:19:07,633 --> 00:19:09,333
[ Laughs ]

394
00:19:09,333 --> 00:19:11,066
♪♪

395
00:19:11,066 --> 00:19:14,900
It was New Orleans, man.

396
00:19:14,900 --> 00:19:17,000
-The drag scene
is definitely a thing

397
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,333
that New Orleans has been doing
for a very long time.

398
00:19:20,333 --> 00:19:22,666
We got the whole setup
from all the older queens

399
00:19:22,666 --> 00:19:24,766
who came before us.

400
00:19:24,766 --> 00:19:26,733
♪♪

401
00:19:26,733 --> 00:19:29,300
Being a queer kid
from New Orleans,

402
00:19:29,300 --> 00:19:34,166
I can relate to what Richard
went through back then.

403
00:19:34,166 --> 00:19:37,166
When you meet people
that's just like you,

404
00:19:37,166 --> 00:19:41,133
it feels just fabulous.

405
00:19:41,133 --> 00:19:45,200
That gives you a moment to lay
your hair down and be yourself.

406
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:46,900
You can talk the way
you want to talk.

407
00:19:46,900 --> 00:19:50,066
You can walk the way
you want to walk.

408
00:19:50,066 --> 00:19:52,733
When you're different,
you've got to have that support,

409
00:19:52,733 --> 00:19:57,166
you know, a community of people
that shows you the ropes.

410
00:19:57,166 --> 00:20:00,066
♪♪

411
00:20:00,066 --> 00:20:02,733
-These guys,
these female impersonators.

412
00:20:02,733 --> 00:20:06,500
I went with them, and they
wanted me to dress as a woman.

413
00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:09,400
Instead of saying "he,"
they would say "she."

414
00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,266
-He creates this
Princess LaVonne character,

415
00:20:12,266 --> 00:20:15,333
and she would just dazzle
the audiences.

416
00:20:15,333 --> 00:20:19,633
-♪ Ain't that good news? ♪
-♪ Ain't that good news? ♪

417
00:20:19,633 --> 00:20:23,833
-♪ Ain't that good news? ♪

418
00:20:23,833 --> 00:20:27,400
-♪ Everybody's blues crazy ♪

419
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,533
-I wore the eyelashes
and the head bands,

420
00:20:29,533 --> 00:20:33,133
and I'd have so much mascara on,
it looks like mud.

421
00:20:33,133 --> 00:20:34,700
[ Laughs ]

422
00:20:34,700 --> 00:20:36,066
-♪ The blues ♪

423
00:20:36,066 --> 00:20:40,566
-So, at this point,
he's writing blues music.

424
00:20:40,566 --> 00:20:43,900
He's singing and performing R&B.

425
00:20:43,900 --> 00:20:46,233
-♪ Everybody's blues crazy ♪

426
00:20:46,233 --> 00:20:51,133
-There's this great story where
he's whipping his hair around,

427
00:20:51,133 --> 00:20:54,433
and he turns to the audience
and says,

428
00:20:54,433 --> 00:20:57,933
"I'm the king of the blues.
And also the queen, too."

429
00:20:57,933 --> 00:20:59,566
[ Laughs ]

430
00:20:59,566 --> 00:21:04,700
♪ Ain't that good ♪

431
00:21:04,700 --> 00:21:07,166
♪ News ♪

432
00:21:07,166 --> 00:21:11,000
-And so even though
the Princess LaVonne character

433
00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:12,733
gets retired,

434
00:21:12,733 --> 00:21:15,366
I think that he took her
with him.

435
00:21:15,366 --> 00:21:19,033
♪♪

436
00:21:19,033 --> 00:21:21,900
-Richard was the greatest
marketer of himself

437
00:21:21,900 --> 00:21:24,633
or anyone that I knew.

438
00:21:24,633 --> 00:21:28,100
Was constantly putting himself
out there.

439
00:21:28,100 --> 00:21:31,000
So, he sent his demo tape
to Specialty Records.

440
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:33,500
♪♪

441
00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:35,066
-I waited one year.

442
00:21:35,066 --> 00:21:38,600
Can you imagine them
having me wait a whole year?

443
00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:39,766
♪♪

444
00:21:39,766 --> 00:21:43,300
♪ Taxi, taxi, take me anywhere ♪

445
00:21:43,300 --> 00:21:45,400
-We didn't listen to the tape
right away.

446
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,966
-♪ Taxi, taxi,
take me anywhere ♪

447
00:21:48,966 --> 00:21:52,866
-It was a scratchy tape,
and it was poorly recorded.

448
00:21:52,866 --> 00:21:54,066
♪♪

449
00:21:54,066 --> 00:22:00,766
[ Telephones ringing ]

450
00:22:00,766 --> 00:22:02,700
He just kept calling us.

451
00:22:02,700 --> 00:22:05,166
So, finally I said,
"Find that tape."

452
00:22:05,166 --> 00:22:08,233
And we found it,
and we listened to it.

453
00:22:08,233 --> 00:22:13,566
-♪ She got my money,
but I don't even care ♪

454
00:22:13,566 --> 00:22:18,266
♪♪

455
00:22:18,266 --> 00:22:22,300
-And so if it hadn't been
for Richard's persistence,

456
00:22:22,300 --> 00:22:24,400
we would have never met
Little Richard.

457
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,733
♪♪

458
00:22:26,733 --> 00:22:29,200
-They had me to meet them
in New Orleans,

459
00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:30,833
and I met them down there.

460
00:22:30,833 --> 00:22:33,133
♪♪

461
00:22:33,133 --> 00:22:37,000
-I got...
-Alright. Stand by, please.

462
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,266
This is "Wondering."

463
00:22:38,266 --> 00:22:40,433
Done with a lot of feeling.
Take one.

464
00:22:40,433 --> 00:22:44,000
-I recorded some blues.
I recorded "Wondering."

465
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:45,633
♪♪

466
00:22:45,633 --> 00:22:50,933
♪ I'm ♪

467
00:22:50,933 --> 00:22:54,933
♪ Wonderin' ♪

468
00:22:54,933 --> 00:22:57,933
-I just stopped the session

469
00:22:57,933 --> 00:23:01,600
because we were
getting no place fast.

470
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:04,533
Great singer singing
a good song. So what?

471
00:23:04,533 --> 00:23:07,733
And we went into
the Dew Drop Inn.

472
00:23:07,733 --> 00:23:09,133
There was a piano.

473
00:23:09,133 --> 00:23:11,566
All of the boosters,
rounders, pimps, whores,

474
00:23:11,566 --> 00:23:14,966
and everything else
was hanging around.

475
00:23:14,966 --> 00:23:18,266
And that was when I began
to know and understand Richard.

476
00:23:18,266 --> 00:23:20,766
'Cause that's all you gotta do,
is give Richard an audience,

477
00:23:20,766 --> 00:23:24,566
turn the lights on,
and the show is on.

478
00:23:24,566 --> 00:23:26,366
-And Richard jumped on the piano
and did --

479
00:23:26,366 --> 00:23:28,833
♪ Awop-bop-a-loo-bop,
alop-bam-boom ♪

480
00:23:28,833 --> 00:23:31,900
So they heard it and say,
"Wait a minute. What's that?"

481
00:23:31,900 --> 00:23:34,233
It was a hook that
they had never heard before.

482
00:23:34,233 --> 00:23:37,100
But Richard had been singing
that phrase for years,

483
00:23:37,100 --> 00:23:39,033
you know,
on the Chitlin' Circuit.

484
00:23:39,033 --> 00:23:41,333
-And so I started singing.

485
00:23:53,066 --> 00:23:55,400
-The lyrics could be interpreted

486
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:57,533
as gay sex.

487
00:23:57,533 --> 00:24:00,166
They're not gonna play that
on the radio! [ Laughs ]

488
00:24:00,166 --> 00:24:02,700
"Tutti frutti, good booty."

489
00:24:02,700 --> 00:24:05,400
And everybody knew
this ain't about ice cream.

490
00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:07,933
[ Laughs ]

491
00:24:07,933 --> 00:24:10,400
-But the primary reaction

492
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:12,133
from the producers'
point of view --

493
00:24:12,133 --> 00:24:14,166
hey, this sounds like
a hit record.

494
00:24:14,166 --> 00:24:17,200
-I asked him, did he have
a grudge against making money?

495
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:19,200
He said, "No." I said, "Good."

496
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:20,733
-They said it was smutty,

497
00:24:20,733 --> 00:24:22,600
and so they helped me clean up
my own lyrics.

498
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,433
It was my song.
I brought the song there.

499
00:24:25,433 --> 00:24:28,366
-So we wrote the words
"Tutti frutti, oh, rootie,"

500
00:24:28,366 --> 00:24:30,866
and "A girl named Sue"
and "A girl named Daisy,"

501
00:24:30,866 --> 00:24:33,833
put Richard on the piano.

502
00:24:33,833 --> 00:24:38,733
And in 15 minutes, I think
we cut two or three cuts.

503
00:24:38,733 --> 00:24:40,800
And it's been history
ever since.

504
00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:42,433
♪♪

505
00:24:42,433 --> 00:24:44,933
-Ready?
-Ready!

506
00:24:44,933 --> 00:24:46,200
-Okay. Let's go.

507
00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:48,533
-♪ Wop bop a loo bop,
a lop bom bom ♪

508
00:24:48,533 --> 00:24:51,200
♪ Tutti frutti, oh, rootie ♪

509
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:55,933
♪ Tutti frutti, oh, rootie ♪

510
00:24:55,933 --> 00:24:59,100
-The beat. The up-tempo of it.

511
00:24:59,100 --> 00:25:01,466
He was on his way
to the rock 'n roll now.

512
00:25:01,466 --> 00:25:02,933
-♪ Awop bop a loo bop,
a lop bom bom ♪

513
00:25:02,933 --> 00:25:05,300
-It was the first step
in crossover.

514
00:25:05,300 --> 00:25:09,400
Blues and R&B had a baby.

515
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:11,833
-I mean, I love it.

516
00:25:11,833 --> 00:25:14,900
When I first heard it, I was
like, "This is me all day."

517
00:25:14,900 --> 00:25:17,033
♪♪

518
00:25:17,033 --> 00:25:19,200
I mean, just the word
"tutti frutti."

519
00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:21,500
It connects you
to the gay community.

520
00:25:21,500 --> 00:25:23,000
You know, we are tutti frutties.
[ Laughs ]

521
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,533
That was one of the slang words
that the mainstream community,

522
00:25:27,533 --> 00:25:29,466
they did not know at the time.

523
00:25:29,466 --> 00:25:31,166
♪♪

524
00:25:31,166 --> 00:25:35,033
I just know all of us
tutti frutties were going crazy.

525
00:25:35,033 --> 00:25:36,333
-♪ Tutti frutti ♪

526
00:25:36,333 --> 00:25:38,800
-You could tell this is
a song directly for us.

527
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:40,766
-♪ Oh, rootie ♪

528
00:25:40,766 --> 00:25:43,233
♪ Awop bop a loo bop,
a lop bom bom ♪

529
00:25:43,233 --> 00:25:45,533
-And, I mean,
I think it was just horrible

530
00:25:45,533 --> 00:25:48,633
how they stole
everything that he did.

531
00:25:48,633 --> 00:25:50,900
[ Horn honks ]

532
00:25:50,900 --> 00:25:52,966
-♪ On the day... ♪

533
00:25:52,966 --> 00:25:54,600
-When I came out
with "Tutti Frutti,"

534
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,200
Black records was played
for Black people only.

535
00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,600
Black artists had never been
received by the white stations.

536
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:06,666
-♪ Writing love letters ♪

537
00:26:06,666 --> 00:26:10,033
♪ In the sand ♪

538
00:26:10,033 --> 00:26:13,200
-At that point,
I was a pop artist.

539
00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:14,566
♪ When I cried ♪

540
00:26:14,566 --> 00:26:17,500
You know, what I wanted to sing
were songs about love

541
00:26:17,500 --> 00:26:19,100
and happiness and all that.

542
00:26:19,100 --> 00:26:21,166
♪ Saw the tide ♪

543
00:26:21,166 --> 00:26:23,733
That was what they played
on the radio back then.

544
00:26:23,733 --> 00:26:28,533
♪ From the sand ♪

545
00:26:28,533 --> 00:26:31,366
Rhythm and blues music
was called race music.

546
00:26:31,366 --> 00:26:34,633
Here I'm a churchgoing
white kid from Nashville.

547
00:26:34,633 --> 00:26:37,433
I knew very little of it.

548
00:26:37,433 --> 00:26:40,433
But then when I heard a song
by Little Richard

549
00:26:40,433 --> 00:26:41,900
called "Tutti Frutti"...

550
00:26:41,900 --> 00:26:43,266
-♪ Awop bop a loo bop,
a lop bom bom ♪

551
00:26:43,266 --> 00:26:45,500
-...I loved it.
I just flat loved it.

552
00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:48,933
And so I thought, I'm gonna
do my version of it.

553
00:26:48,933 --> 00:26:52,200
-Jumping into 10th position
this week, "Tutti Frutti."

554
00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,833
And here to sing it in person
is the man who made it a hit,

555
00:26:55,833 --> 00:26:59,200
one of America's greatest
recording stars, Pat Boone!

556
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,433
-When I recorded that song,
it was hard to say,

557
00:27:02,433 --> 00:27:04,633
"Awop, ah-eh-ahah.
What was that again?"

558
00:27:04,633 --> 00:27:06,966
♪ Tutti frutti, oh, rootie ♪

559
00:27:06,966 --> 00:27:09,400
But I was
having to write that out.

560
00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:13,066
"Awop, bop, aloo -- What?
Bomp? Bop?"

561
00:27:13,066 --> 00:27:16,600
Write that out -- write it out
so I could sing it.

562
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,100
♪ Awop bop a loo mop,
alop bop bop ♪

563
00:27:20,100 --> 00:27:22,466
My version took off
like a rocket.

564
00:27:22,466 --> 00:27:26,233
It was a million-selling hit.
The kids loved it.

565
00:27:26,233 --> 00:27:28,166
♪♪

566
00:27:28,166 --> 00:27:29,900
-Pat Boone came out singing

567
00:27:29,900 --> 00:27:31,933
a white version
of "Tutti Frutti."

568
00:27:31,933 --> 00:27:35,533
I was very disgusted because
I was just coming on the scene,

569
00:27:35,533 --> 00:27:38,300
and he sold more than I did.

570
00:27:40,033 --> 00:27:41,833
-I mean, you have
this white straight man

571
00:27:41,833 --> 00:27:44,100
that's saying "tutti frutti"
when he really don't know

572
00:27:44,100 --> 00:27:45,633
the meaning of the song.

573
00:27:45,633 --> 00:27:48,700
And he made all the money, too.

574
00:27:48,700 --> 00:27:51,566
It's just not right.

575
00:27:51,566 --> 00:27:54,500
-Listening to music
when I was a child,

576
00:27:54,500 --> 00:27:55,900
I grew up with covers

577
00:27:55,900 --> 00:27:58,800
and hearing people
re-interpret music.

578
00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,300
But when I hear Little Richard
playing "Tutti Frutti"

579
00:28:02,300 --> 00:28:05,333
and I hear Pat Boone
singing "Tutti Frutti,"

580
00:28:05,333 --> 00:28:10,166
that painted a real
interesting picture to me.

581
00:28:10,166 --> 00:28:12,833
Society was telling me,

582
00:28:12,833 --> 00:28:19,533
"Hey, Nile,
if you want to be a musician...

583
00:28:19,533 --> 00:28:23,066
you can't be Little Richard.

584
00:28:23,066 --> 00:28:28,666
You have to be safe."

585
00:28:28,666 --> 00:28:31,966
-But Little Richard,
he was always a fighter.

586
00:28:31,966 --> 00:28:33,800
He said, "Okay, well,
that's what they did?

587
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:35,733
Well, I'm-a do the next one
a little faster.

588
00:28:35,733 --> 00:28:39,100
I'm gonna speed the tempo up
and see if you can do that."

589
00:28:39,100 --> 00:28:41,366
To make it uncoverable.

590
00:28:41,366 --> 00:28:43,833
And that was "Long Tall Sally."

591
00:28:43,833 --> 00:28:46,633
-♪ Gonna tell Aunt Mary
'bout Uncle John ♪

592
00:28:46,633 --> 00:28:49,133
♪ He claim he has the misery,
but he's havin' a lot of fun ♪

593
00:28:49,133 --> 00:28:52,500
♪ Oh, baby, yes, baby ♪

594
00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:55,300
-But if I can sing, "Wop bop
a loo mop, balop bop, bop,"

595
00:28:55,300 --> 00:28:57,200
I can sure sing
"Long Tall Sally."

596
00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:59,766
♪ Gonna go tell Mary
'bout Uncle John ♪

597
00:28:59,766 --> 00:29:01,900
♪ He said he has the blues,
but he has a lot of fun ♪

598
00:29:01,900 --> 00:29:05,100
♪ Oh, Mary, yes, baby ♪

599
00:29:05,100 --> 00:29:07,166
Mine sold a million
and a half like that.

600
00:29:07,166 --> 00:29:09,533
Another big hit for Pat Boone,

601
00:29:09,533 --> 00:29:10,766
which some people think,

602
00:29:10,766 --> 00:29:12,500
if they didn't live
through the era,

603
00:29:12,500 --> 00:29:14,200
think that we were
taking something

604
00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:16,900
from those Black performers.
No, we weren't.

605
00:29:16,900 --> 00:29:19,400
We were introducing him
to a much bigger audience.

606
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:22,666
And I've said many times,
I think I and Elvis

607
00:29:22,666 --> 00:29:25,900
were midwives
at the birth of rock 'n' roll.

608
00:29:25,900 --> 00:29:30,433
-♪ You ain't nothin'
but a hound dog ♪

609
00:29:30,433 --> 00:29:33,533
♪ Been snoopin'
around the door ♪

610
00:29:33,533 --> 00:29:35,166
♪ You ain't nothin'
but a hound dog ♪

611
00:29:35,166 --> 00:29:38,566
-I knew Elvis Presley was drawn
to rhythm and blues music,

612
00:29:38,566 --> 00:29:40,366
same as me.

613
00:29:40,366 --> 00:29:43,133
He loved the excitement of it,
the freedom of it.

614
00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:47,000
[ Cheers and applause ]

615
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,166
[ Women screaming ]

616
00:29:49,166 --> 00:29:52,400
-♪ You ain't nothin'
but a hound dog ♪

617
00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:54,666
♪ Cryin' all the time ♪

618
00:29:54,666 --> 00:29:56,566
♪ You ain't nothin'
but a hound dog ♪

619
00:29:56,566 --> 00:29:58,566
-Then when Elvis
started performing

620
00:29:58,566 --> 00:30:01,400
Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog"

621
00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:04,133
with basically
the same arrangement,

622
00:30:04,133 --> 00:30:07,466
most people knew nothing
of the original,

623
00:30:07,466 --> 00:30:11,000
that is, at least,
in the pop world.

624
00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:12,566
-You know, you have to remember

625
00:30:12,566 --> 00:30:15,233
Elvis and his
white contemporaries

626
00:30:15,233 --> 00:30:18,266
were afforded more opportunities
for airplay

627
00:30:18,266 --> 00:30:20,666
than the Black artists
could ever hope to get.

628
00:30:20,666 --> 00:30:22,600
♪♪

629
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:24,000
-A lot of white kids,

630
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,066
they would buy
my "Long Tall Sally"

631
00:30:26,066 --> 00:30:27,466
or my "Tutti Frutti,"

632
00:30:27,466 --> 00:30:30,800
but they would buy Pat Boone's
and put it up on the table

633
00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:34,133
and put mine under the table
to satisfy their family,

634
00:30:34,133 --> 00:30:37,533
'cause their mother wanted
this white image for them.

635
00:30:37,533 --> 00:30:40,266
We were in the same house
but different locations.

636
00:30:40,266 --> 00:30:42,900
♪♪

637
00:30:42,900 --> 00:30:46,433
-It makes me sad,
and it makes me angry, too.

638
00:30:46,433 --> 00:30:49,733
♪♪

639
00:30:49,733 --> 00:30:51,366
It affected, you know,

640
00:30:51,366 --> 00:30:54,566
a lot of Black artists
during that time, you know?

641
00:30:54,566 --> 00:30:57,500
[ Coin clatters ]

642
00:30:57,500 --> 00:31:01,566
But then the white teenagers
said, "Wait a minute.

643
00:31:01,566 --> 00:31:04,533
I don't want to hear Pat Boone
singing

644
00:31:04,533 --> 00:31:07,233
'Tutti Frutti'
and Long Tall Sally.'

645
00:31:07,233 --> 00:31:11,133
We want to hear the
real 
thing."

646
00:31:11,133 --> 00:31:13,233
Forbidden fruit
tastes the sweetest.

647
00:31:13,233 --> 00:31:14,633
[ Laughs ]

648
00:31:14,633 --> 00:31:16,500
-♪ Ready, set, go, man, go ♪

649
00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:18,033
-And so Little Richard

650
00:31:18,033 --> 00:31:20,166
just started putting out
hit after hit.

651
00:31:20,166 --> 00:31:23,766
-♪ Ready, ready, Teddy,
I'm ready ♪

652
00:31:23,766 --> 00:31:27,033
I was the first Black artist
to go top 40,

653
00:31:27,033 --> 00:31:29,466
to break the racial barrier.
That's what I should say.

654
00:31:29,466 --> 00:31:31,000
♪ To the corner,
pick up my sweetie pie ♪

655
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:32,600
♪ She's my rock 'n' roll baby,
she's the apple of my eye ♪

656
00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:34,900
-To be a Black artist
and go to the top

657
00:31:34,900 --> 00:31:38,566
of the pop charts, like...

658
00:31:38,566 --> 00:31:40,533
It was amazing to me.

659
00:31:40,533 --> 00:31:43,633
-♪ I'm ready, ready, ready
to rock 'n' roll ♪

660
00:31:43,633 --> 00:31:45,666
-This is Alan Freed, kids,
rolling right along

661
00:31:45,666 --> 00:31:47,833
with your own special brand
of music.

662
00:31:47,833 --> 00:31:49,500
-♪ Saturday night,
and I just got paid ♪

663
00:31:49,500 --> 00:31:51,433
-England was not playing
rock 'n' roll.

664
00:31:51,433 --> 00:31:55,400
The BBC were not really playing
rock 'n' roll.

665
00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:59,533
But there's a country
called Luxembourg

666
00:31:59,533 --> 00:32:02,100
who had this huge antenna,

667
00:32:02,100 --> 00:32:04,800
and in Liverpool
we could hear their radio,

668
00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:06,466
what they were sending out.

669
00:32:06,466 --> 00:32:08,566
And they had
the Alan Freed show.

670
00:32:08,566 --> 00:32:10,766
-Man, that Little Richard
really rocks.

671
00:32:10,766 --> 00:32:14,900
-So my mate Roy and I, we would
sit 4:00 every Sunday.

672
00:32:14,900 --> 00:32:17,400
This is what we did,
is gonna listen to this show.

673
00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:18,733
Little Richard came on.

674
00:32:18,733 --> 00:32:21,433
First time we'd heard him.
Like, "What?!"

675
00:32:21,433 --> 00:32:22,866
He was just so great.

676
00:32:22,866 --> 00:32:26,700
But what was great, 'cause
we were young teenagers --

677
00:32:26,700 --> 00:32:29,600
He said, "Shag on down
to the Union Hall."

678
00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:30,733
[ Laughs ]

679
00:32:30,733 --> 00:32:32,500
We -- "Shag on down"?

680
00:32:32,500 --> 00:32:35,966
You know, it means something
different in England.

681
00:32:35,966 --> 00:32:38,066
-♪ Shagged on down
by the Union Hall ♪

682
00:32:38,066 --> 00:32:40,600
♪ When the joint starts jumpin',
I'll have a ball ♪

683
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:41,933
♪ I'm gonna rock it up ♪

684
00:32:41,933 --> 00:32:45,200
-And now here's Little Richard
with "Lucille."

685
00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,233
[ "Lucille" plays ]

686
00:32:47,233 --> 00:32:50,233
-When I first heard "Lucille"

687
00:32:50,233 --> 00:32:53,133
and that riff...

688
00:32:53,133 --> 00:32:56,100
To hear something like that
just suddenly out of nowhere

689
00:32:56,100 --> 00:32:59,033
was mind-blowing, you know?

690
00:32:59,033 --> 00:33:01,866
Gobsmacking, you know?
[ Laughs ]

691
00:33:01,866 --> 00:33:04,033
♪♪

692
00:33:04,033 --> 00:33:06,466
-♪ Lucille ♪

693
00:33:06,466 --> 00:33:10,700
-He's not got enough recognition
for writing songs like that.

694
00:33:10,700 --> 00:33:13,066
And an incredible talent.

695
00:33:21,700 --> 00:33:23,733
-I can always remember,
you know, you'd just be waiting

696
00:33:23,733 --> 00:33:26,500
for the next Richard record
to come out.

697
00:33:26,500 --> 00:33:28,900
Well, it's been two months.
You know, it should've been...

698
00:33:28,900 --> 00:33:30,900
-♪ Bad-luck baby
put the jinx on me ♪

699
00:33:30,900 --> 00:33:33,466
♪ I got the heeby-jeebies,
and I can't get well ♪

700
00:33:33,466 --> 00:33:38,333
-Those records had a big effect
on me and my generation.

701
00:33:38,333 --> 00:33:40,466
They threw
a whole different light

702
00:33:40,466 --> 00:33:42,966
on life and its possibilities.

703
00:33:42,966 --> 00:33:45,200
[ Laughs ]

704
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:49,000
-Back in those days,
everybody loved me.

705
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,566
Alan Freed.
He put me on the hit movie.

706
00:33:51,566 --> 00:33:53,766
[ Cheers and applause ]

707
00:33:55,466 --> 00:33:58,600
-Now here's that
real solid man of rock 'n' roll.

708
00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:02,600
Little Richard
and "Long Tall Sally"!

709
00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:05,366
-♪ Gonna tell Aunt Mary
'bout Uncle John ♪

710
00:34:05,366 --> 00:34:06,666
♪ He claim he has the misery ♪

711
00:34:06,666 --> 00:34:09,533
-The scene in that movie
was just amazing.

712
00:34:09,533 --> 00:34:12,033
-♪ And he ducked back in
the alley, oh, baby, yeah ♪

713
00:34:12,033 --> 00:34:14,100
-We had seen nothing like that

714
00:34:14,100 --> 00:34:16,533
in the world
of music and cinema.

715
00:34:16,533 --> 00:34:18,366
It was so extraordinary.

716
00:34:18,366 --> 00:34:20,333
♪♪

717
00:34:20,333 --> 00:34:24,466
The whole makeup thing
and his high pompadour.

718
00:34:24,466 --> 00:34:28,533
His foot up on the top
of the piano.

719
00:34:28,533 --> 00:34:32,866
And, of course, the voice
was like a volcanic eruption.

720
00:34:32,866 --> 00:34:35,933
-♪ Ooooh, have
some fun tonight ♪

721
00:34:35,933 --> 00:34:38,500
♪ Everything's alright ♪

722
00:34:38,500 --> 00:34:43,266
♪ Have some fun,
have me some fun tonight ♪

723
00:34:43,266 --> 00:34:47,500
-At the end, the cinema was like
an undiscovered Egyptian tomb.

724
00:34:47,500 --> 00:34:50,666
We were so in awe
that we could hardly speak.

725
00:34:50,666 --> 00:34:56,033
You were in a state of shock.
It was that powerful.

726
00:34:56,033 --> 00:34:58,433
-People like Chuck Berry
and Little Richard,

727
00:34:58,433 --> 00:35:00,300
I think these guys --
especially Richard --

728
00:35:00,300 --> 00:35:04,066
they knew that they were on
the forefront of something new.

729
00:35:04,066 --> 00:35:05,633
I don't think they all knew
what it was,

730
00:35:05,633 --> 00:35:07,766
but they realized

731
00:35:07,766 --> 00:35:11,133
that they'd broken through
something really important.

732
00:35:11,133 --> 00:35:13,633
-Rock then became a force,

733
00:35:13,633 --> 00:35:15,966
and Little Richard
was always leading it.

734
00:35:15,966 --> 00:35:17,833
[ Dog barking ]

735
00:35:17,833 --> 00:35:19,966
-That's my house right there on
the left where I used to live.

736
00:35:19,966 --> 00:35:22,433
That's the first house
I ever bought right there.

737
00:35:22,433 --> 00:35:25,300
Is there anybody here
think we gonna break in?

738
00:35:25,300 --> 00:35:28,933
This neighborhood
was
theneighborhood.

739
00:35:28,933 --> 00:35:30,933
I enjoyed it
because my brothers and sisters,

740
00:35:30,933 --> 00:35:33,633
you know, I had moved them
from Macon, Georgia, here.

741
00:35:33,633 --> 00:35:35,400
And this is the first time
they had a chance

742
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:36,633
to live in a house like this.

743
00:35:36,633 --> 00:35:39,133
You know, in Macon,
they had homes like this,

744
00:35:39,133 --> 00:35:41,466
but only white people
lived in them.

745
00:35:41,466 --> 00:35:42,866
And for them to have
the opportunity

746
00:35:42,866 --> 00:35:44,266
to live in a home like this

747
00:35:44,266 --> 00:35:46,466
with cars that was theirs
felt good

748
00:35:46,466 --> 00:35:49,333
to give them something
that I never had before.

749
00:35:49,333 --> 00:35:51,666
I think the same lady
still live next door over there

750
00:35:51,666 --> 00:35:54,833
that was living there when I had
my monkey, Tutti Frutti.

751
00:35:54,833 --> 00:35:58,366
Yeah, he used to raise so much
sand up in this neighborhood.

752
00:35:58,366 --> 00:36:00,166
He was biting everything.

753
00:36:00,166 --> 00:36:01,466
♪♪

754
00:36:01,466 --> 00:36:05,166
-When I first met him,
I was a teenager,

755
00:36:05,166 --> 00:36:10,266
and he lived around the corner,
and he was a wonderful person.

756
00:36:10,266 --> 00:36:13,900
He was very loud and boisterous.

757
00:36:13,900 --> 00:36:17,000
You automatically
seen him coming.

758
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:19,566
♪♪

759
00:36:19,566 --> 00:36:22,833
He made me laugh,
and I made him laugh.

760
00:36:22,833 --> 00:36:26,866
And he said he didn't know
that I wasn't a woman,

761
00:36:26,866 --> 00:36:29,533
that I was gay.

762
00:36:29,533 --> 00:36:31,933
And I said, "I'm Sir Lady."

763
00:36:31,933 --> 00:36:33,833
And he -- [ Laughs ]

764
00:36:33,833 --> 00:36:36,500
He would look at me.
I'd say, "Oh, you know what

765
00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:37,733
I'm talking about, bitch."

766
00:36:37,733 --> 00:36:40,266
He told me, "Don't --
Don't hand me that."

767
00:36:42,066 --> 00:36:48,200
He kind of liked me,
but we never did get together.

768
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:50,066
He went both ways.

769
00:36:50,066 --> 00:36:53,400
He liked a girl called Angel.

770
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:55,200
He loved Angel.

771
00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,366
-♪ Send me some lovin' ♪

772
00:36:58,366 --> 00:37:02,066
-Oh, their relationship, boy...

773
00:37:02,066 --> 00:37:04,966
was on fire.

774
00:37:04,966 --> 00:37:07,366
And he couldn't even wait
to get back to the bed.

775
00:37:07,366 --> 00:37:09,800
He would take her
in the back seat of the limo.

776
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:11,633
'Cause he loved the limos.

777
00:37:11,633 --> 00:37:14,566
-♪ Can you send me your kisses ♪

778
00:37:14,566 --> 00:37:16,833
♪♪

779
00:37:16,833 --> 00:37:19,433
-It was a lot of fun.

780
00:37:19,433 --> 00:37:21,200
[ Laughs ]

781
00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:23,800
Richard's fantasies
are the greatest on Earth.

782
00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:27,133
-♪ I miss you so much ♪

783
00:37:27,133 --> 00:37:30,533
-Oh, they should just keep "Lee"
and take the "Angel" off.

784
00:37:30,533 --> 00:37:31,833
[ Laughs ]

785
00:37:31,833 --> 00:37:33,966
Oh, she is a whooper.

786
00:37:33,966 --> 00:37:35,200
She's a wonderful girl.

787
00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:36,600
You know, she's beautiful.

788
00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:38,366
She's lovin', she's kind.

789
00:37:38,366 --> 00:37:41,233
♪ I'm waitin' for you ♪

790
00:37:41,233 --> 00:37:44,866
♪♪

791
00:37:44,866 --> 00:37:48,466
-It was true love.

792
00:37:48,466 --> 00:37:52,333
He wanted to get married to her,
but she was young,

793
00:37:52,333 --> 00:37:55,766
and she had to live her life.

794
00:37:55,766 --> 00:38:01,466
He was devastated because
he really wanted to marry her.

795
00:38:01,466 --> 00:38:07,133
After that, his feelings
became very private.

796
00:38:07,133 --> 00:38:08,933
And he stayed private.

797
00:38:08,933 --> 00:38:14,166
♪♪

798
00:38:14,166 --> 00:38:15,800
-At that time,

799
00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:19,166
Richard discovered
how Specialty Records,

800
00:38:19,166 --> 00:38:21,666
the way things were done
with the royalties.

801
00:38:21,666 --> 00:38:23,366
I don't know the percentages
of the contract,

802
00:38:23,366 --> 00:38:25,233
but it was terrible.

803
00:38:25,233 --> 00:38:26,800
It was terrible.

804
00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:29,066
-If you spoke for your money,
you was a troublemaker.

805
00:38:29,066 --> 00:38:31,000
But if you just went along
with the program,

806
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:32,633
didn't say nothing,
you was a "good boy."

807
00:38:32,633 --> 00:38:35,100
Never a man -- a "good boy."

808
00:38:36,366 --> 00:38:40,233
Mind, the record company's
not paying me my royalties.

809
00:38:40,233 --> 00:38:42,500
I had to work all the time.

810
00:38:42,500 --> 00:38:45,766
♪♪

811
00:38:45,766 --> 00:38:49,233
-Richard asked,
would I come on the tour.

812
00:38:49,233 --> 00:38:51,966
Richard had such charisma.

813
00:38:51,966 --> 00:38:55,433
That, along with
his tremendous talent,

814
00:38:55,433 --> 00:38:58,366
was just --
made it natural, you know?

815
00:38:58,366 --> 00:39:01,233
I said, "Of course."

816
00:39:01,233 --> 00:39:04,500
Oh, it was exciting.
I mean, you know, I was young.

817
00:39:04,500 --> 00:39:10,066
I was raised in Los Angeles,
so when I went South,

818
00:39:10,066 --> 00:39:12,833
that was quite
an experience for me.

819
00:39:12,833 --> 00:39:16,633
♪♪

820
00:39:16,633 --> 00:39:20,200
I remember there were
colored and white restrooms,

821
00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:22,966
but I thought it was funny.

822
00:39:22,966 --> 00:39:26,200
But later on, I began to realize

823
00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:29,833
that this was
a serious situation.

824
00:39:29,833 --> 00:39:33,733
-Policeman would stop me
and make me wash my face.

825
00:39:33,733 --> 00:39:36,833
I couldn't go to the bathroom.

826
00:39:36,833 --> 00:39:40,300
I was the hottest thing
in the country.

827
00:39:40,300 --> 00:39:42,066
And I remember we was in a hotel

828
00:39:42,066 --> 00:39:44,433
in Montgomery, Alabama,
and the Ku Klux Klan

829
00:39:44,433 --> 00:39:48,233
made us get out of the hotel
at 4:30 in the morning

830
00:39:48,233 --> 00:39:50,133
with white sheets on.

831
00:39:50,133 --> 00:39:52,366
Made us leave the hotel.

832
00:39:52,366 --> 00:39:56,233
You know, if you're Black,
you're in trouble.

833
00:39:56,233 --> 00:39:59,300
-A lot of the gigs that we did,

834
00:39:59,300 --> 00:40:02,200
it was segregated audiences.

835
00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:04,433
There'd be a rope down
the middle of the dance hall.

836
00:40:04,433 --> 00:40:06,766
[ Laughing ]

837
00:40:06,766 --> 00:40:09,100
That's how stupid it all was,
you know?

838
00:40:09,100 --> 00:40:11,766
-And I am Little Richard.
Come up and listen.

839
00:40:11,766 --> 00:40:13,233
Come on!

840
00:40:13,233 --> 00:40:16,133
♪♪

841
00:40:16,133 --> 00:40:18,700
-♪ She can't help it,
the girl can't help it ♪

842
00:40:18,700 --> 00:40:21,100
♪ She can't help it,
the girl can't help it ♪

843
00:40:21,100 --> 00:40:24,233
-♪ If she walks by,
the men folks get engrossed ♪

844
00:40:24,233 --> 00:40:26,433
-♪ She can't help it,
the girl can't help it ♪

845
00:40:26,433 --> 00:40:29,733
-♪ If she winks an eye,
the bread slice turn to toast ♪

846
00:40:29,733 --> 00:40:31,833
-♪ She can't help it,
the girl can't help it ♪

847
00:40:31,833 --> 00:40:34,966
-♪ Yeah, she's got a lot
of what they call the most ♪

848
00:40:34,966 --> 00:40:36,266
-♪ She can't help it ♪

849
00:40:36,266 --> 00:40:41,300
-Richard reached out
to everyone in that audience.

850
00:40:41,300 --> 00:40:44,600
The kids was going crazy.

851
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:46,200
And then what started to happen

852
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:49,466
was that the kids
danced together.

853
00:40:49,466 --> 00:40:52,000
I had never say seen
nothing like that before.

854
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,166
For a brief minute, we realized,

855
00:40:54,166 --> 00:40:55,733
"We have so many things
in common."

856
00:40:55,733 --> 00:40:58,033
-♪ Every mother's son ♪

857
00:40:58,033 --> 00:40:59,700
-Richard broke barriers down.

858
00:40:59,700 --> 00:41:01,833
-♪ If shes smiles then
beef steak become well done ♪

859
00:41:01,833 --> 00:41:03,866
-White kids were loving it.

860
00:41:03,866 --> 00:41:05,333
Everyone was loving it.

861
00:41:05,333 --> 00:41:07,200
-♪ Ahhh ♪

862
00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:15,033
♪♪

863
00:41:15,033 --> 00:41:16,666
-Some people would say,
"Well, you know,

864
00:41:16,666 --> 00:41:19,766
you can't compare
Little Richard to a Dr. King."

865
00:41:19,766 --> 00:41:21,833
Well, Dr. King believed
in nonviolence,

866
00:41:21,833 --> 00:41:24,900
and he went in places
that he wasn't supposed to go

867
00:41:24,900 --> 00:41:27,500
to make change.

868
00:41:27,500 --> 00:41:30,600
I see a very strong parallel
to what Richard did.

869
00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:35,500
[ Cheers and applause ]

870
00:41:35,500 --> 00:41:38,333
-Rock 'n' roll,
it brought the races together,

871
00:41:38,333 --> 00:41:41,466
because music
is a universal language.

872
00:41:41,466 --> 00:41:43,166
♪♪

873
00:41:43,166 --> 00:41:47,000
-Problem was, it threatened
the establishment.

874
00:41:49,533 --> 00:41:55,400
-The obscenity and vulgarity
of the rock 'n' roll music

875
00:41:55,400 --> 00:42:00,200
is obviously a means by which
the white man and his children

876
00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:02,033
can be driven
to the level of the nigger.

877
00:42:02,033 --> 00:42:04,633
♪♪

878
00:42:04,633 --> 00:42:06,133
-Just all depends upon
how you look at it.

879
00:42:06,133 --> 00:42:08,600
I guess if you want to think
it's nasty or sexy, you could.

880
00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:10,166
But to me, it's just --

881
00:42:10,166 --> 00:42:12,166
-Well, the two things
are not necessarily the same.

882
00:42:12,166 --> 00:42:14,766
-Yeah, well, you know,
it's just so limber and loose.

883
00:42:14,766 --> 00:42:16,533
I mean, it's really marvelous.

884
00:42:16,533 --> 00:42:18,666
-Well, he just feels the rhythm,
digs it the most.

885
00:42:18,666 --> 00:42:20,233
-You don't see anything
wrong with it?

886
00:42:20,233 --> 00:42:21,500
-No.

887
00:42:21,500 --> 00:42:25,466
[ Girls cheering ]

888
00:42:25,466 --> 00:42:29,633
-The white kids liked me.
They loved me.

889
00:42:29,633 --> 00:42:34,233
And all the white girls
was screaming over me.

890
00:42:34,233 --> 00:42:36,733
And the system didn't like it,
you know?

891
00:42:36,733 --> 00:42:39,066
♪♪

892
00:42:39,066 --> 00:42:42,933
And the white families said that
I was raucous, I was demonic,

893
00:42:42,933 --> 00:42:48,266
I was a demon possessed,
whatever you would say.

894
00:42:48,266 --> 00:42:49,733
I was awful.

895
00:42:49,733 --> 00:42:52,333
I was not supposed to be
the hero for their kids.

896
00:42:52,333 --> 00:42:57,766
♪♪

897
00:42:57,766 --> 00:42:59,666
-To be a history nerd
for a second,

898
00:42:59,666 --> 00:43:04,133
rock 'n' roll becomes popular
right at the moment

899
00:43:04,133 --> 00:43:06,266
when Black activists

900
00:43:06,266 --> 00:43:11,400
are having a lot of success
with desegregation.

901
00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:14,200
-In some cases, Negroes achieved
full integration

902
00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:18,066
at terminal restaurants
and waiting rooms.

903
00:43:18,066 --> 00:43:22,166
-We still advocate nonviolence
with passive resistance

904
00:43:22,166 --> 00:43:28,633
and still are determined
to use the weapon of love.

905
00:43:28,633 --> 00:43:31,166
-This set off a panic.

906
00:43:31,166 --> 00:43:34,100
You've got a lot
of worried white people.

907
00:43:34,100 --> 00:43:36,200
-They want to throw
white children

908
00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:39,500
and colored children into
the melting pot of integration.

909
00:43:39,500 --> 00:43:43,166
-Rock 'n' roll has got to go,
and go it does.

910
00:43:43,166 --> 00:43:46,766
-For Little Richard, the white
segregationist backlash

911
00:43:46,766 --> 00:43:48,733
didn't surprise him too much.

912
00:43:48,733 --> 00:43:52,033
But in Black churches,
there was also a lot

913
00:43:52,033 --> 00:43:55,100
of preaching against
rock 'n' roll

914
00:43:55,100 --> 00:43:57,866
that hit him much harder.

915
00:43:57,866 --> 00:44:02,566
-I went to interview him,
and he'd said to me,

916
00:44:02,566 --> 00:44:04,466
"Oh, Dr. Rock, let me tell you

917
00:44:04,466 --> 00:44:06,500
what the Lord
has told me to tell you.

918
00:44:06,500 --> 00:44:07,733
[ Laughs ]

919
00:44:07,733 --> 00:44:09,166
♪♪

920
00:44:09,166 --> 00:44:10,500
He would talk about

921
00:44:10,500 --> 00:44:12,366
rock 'n' roll
being the devil's music.

922
00:44:14,366 --> 00:44:17,566
He felt that he was going
with the devil

923
00:44:17,566 --> 00:44:22,800
instead of going with the Lord,
and that played on his mind.

924
00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:26,400
♪♪

925
00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:28,666
-We would talk about religion.

926
00:44:28,666 --> 00:44:31,333
Didn't mean anything to me
until the plane trip.

927
00:44:42,633 --> 00:44:43,766
He was flying first-class.

928
00:44:43,766 --> 00:44:46,800
All of us were in coach,
you know.

929
00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:48,633
Now, whatever happened
at the front of the plane,

930
00:44:48,633 --> 00:44:50,833
I don't know.

931
00:44:50,833 --> 00:44:55,700
-When I was on this airplane,
the engine turned red and hot.

932
00:44:55,700 --> 00:44:59,366
Plane didn't catch on no fire,
But it scared me.

933
00:44:59,366 --> 00:45:01,133
In my mind,
I could see two angels

934
00:45:01,133 --> 00:45:04,433
flying up under that plane.

935
00:45:04,433 --> 00:45:07,033
-Well, he came through the door
and said,

936
00:45:07,033 --> 00:45:09,533
"Y'all going to hell
if you don't repent."

937
00:45:09,533 --> 00:45:11,100
Everybody stood up and went,
"What is this?

938
00:45:11,100 --> 00:45:12,466
What's going on?"

939
00:45:12,466 --> 00:45:14,433
He had everybody in the plane
praying.

940
00:45:14,433 --> 00:45:15,733
I mean, everybody.

941
00:45:15,733 --> 00:45:17,633
♪♪

942
00:45:17,633 --> 00:45:21,533
And, you know, we were like,
"Oh, yeah?"

943
00:45:21,533 --> 00:45:23,400
♪♪

944
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:26,900
He told me that he was going to
quit the business,

945
00:45:26,900 --> 00:45:29,366
become a preacher.

946
00:45:29,366 --> 00:45:31,366
It was a complete shock.

947
00:45:31,366 --> 00:45:40,000
♪♪

948
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:41,400
-It was very difficult

949
00:45:41,400 --> 00:45:44,933
because Richard
could have blown his nose,

950
00:45:44,933 --> 00:45:48,533
and we could have recorded it
and sold it.

951
00:45:48,533 --> 00:45:51,100
We did everything trying
to get him to come back,

952
00:45:51,100 --> 00:45:53,800
including
withholding his royalties.

953
00:45:53,800 --> 00:45:58,133
But he wouldn't record
the "devil's music" any more.

954
00:45:58,133 --> 00:46:02,333
♪♪

955
00:46:02,333 --> 00:46:04,233
I don't know the real reason.

956
00:46:04,233 --> 00:46:06,866
I suspect
it was typical Richard,

957
00:46:06,866 --> 00:46:09,233
other than what he reveals.

958
00:46:09,233 --> 00:46:11,266
♪♪

959
00:46:11,266 --> 00:46:14,600
-I think he got tired
of being ripped off.

960
00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:16,833
And so it was over.

961
00:46:16,833 --> 00:46:22,000
♪♪

962
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:23,933
That was it for him then.

963
00:46:25,133 --> 00:46:27,133
[ Gospel music plays ]

964
00:46:27,133 --> 00:46:34,433
♪♪

965
00:46:34,433 --> 00:46:39,500
-After he leaves the world
of rock 'n' roll...

966
00:46:39,500 --> 00:46:42,700
-♪ I'm going to tell them ♪

967
00:46:42,700 --> 00:46:45,366
-...he starts
to make gospel recordings.

968
00:46:45,366 --> 00:46:50,033
-♪ All about Him ♪

969
00:46:50,033 --> 00:46:54,433
-He becomes a student
at a religious college.

970
00:46:54,433 --> 00:46:57,833
♪♪

971
00:46:57,833 --> 00:47:01,666
-♪ I'm going to tell God ♪

972
00:47:01,666 --> 00:47:04,166
-He marries a nice woman.

973
00:47:04,166 --> 00:47:06,533
-♪ About Him ♪

974
00:47:06,533 --> 00:47:11,200
-And though the marriage
doesn't last very long,

975
00:47:11,200 --> 00:47:14,833
on the outside,
it looks like Little Richard

976
00:47:14,833 --> 00:47:17,500
was trying
to straighten himself out.

977
00:47:17,500 --> 00:47:21,933
-♪ Going to tell God
all about it ♪

978
00:47:21,933 --> 00:47:27,600
-I met Richard
like maybe early '80s.

979
00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:31,666
The funny story with me
would always be,

980
00:47:31,666 --> 00:47:35,733
okay, we're in the limo.
Richard says,

981
00:47:35,733 --> 00:47:39,166
"Well, Bill, are you
a fool again for Jesus today?"

982
00:47:39,166 --> 00:47:41,233
And then I happily say,

983
00:47:41,233 --> 00:47:43,666
"Yes, I am!
Don't ever let it change."

984
00:47:43,666 --> 00:47:47,133
And then we both
just start laughing.

985
00:47:47,133 --> 00:47:49,766
And in over three decades
that I knew him,

986
00:47:49,766 --> 00:47:54,266
the only fragility that I would
relate to Richard would be,

987
00:47:54,266 --> 00:47:56,266
"Is this going to be
good enough for God?"

988
00:47:56,266 --> 00:48:00,466
-♪ When I get home ♪

989
00:48:00,466 --> 00:48:02,800
-I remember that time.

990
00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:08,333
He was very serious
about his religion.

991
00:48:08,333 --> 00:48:13,166
I mean, Richard was a teenager
when he was fooling with drag.

992
00:48:13,166 --> 00:48:14,900
♪♪

993
00:48:14,900 --> 00:48:20,666
You grow up, and being yourself
is a hard thing to be.

994
00:48:20,666 --> 00:48:22,866
♪♪

995
00:48:22,866 --> 00:48:28,133
I would like it if he was able
to be real with himself.

996
00:48:28,133 --> 00:48:30,633
But he didn't have
that kind of nerve.

997
00:48:30,633 --> 00:48:36,800
-♪ All about it
when I get home ♪

998
00:48:36,800 --> 00:48:38,500
-The consequence
of Little Richard's

999
00:48:38,500 --> 00:48:41,600
focus on gospel was that,
in the United States,

1000
00:48:41,600 --> 00:48:46,133
in mainstream popular music,
he largely gets forgotten.

1001
00:48:48,266 --> 00:48:53,833
♪♪

1002
00:48:53,833 --> 00:48:56,433
-After I joined
the Beatles in '62,

1003
00:48:56,433 --> 00:48:59,400
we got the opportunity
to play the Liverpool Empire.

1004
00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:01,400
♪♪

1005
00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:03,466
If you're not from Liverpool,
you won't understand.

1006
00:49:03,466 --> 00:49:06,100
We're playing
the Liverpool Empire.

1007
00:49:06,100 --> 00:49:09,100
-Little Richard winds up
getting booked

1008
00:49:09,100 --> 00:49:11,900
for some dates in the U.K.

1009
00:49:11,900 --> 00:49:14,766
But he goes there
fully expecting

1010
00:49:14,766 --> 00:49:19,333
to be a gospel performer.

1011
00:49:19,333 --> 00:49:22,500
The Beatles were supporting him.

1012
00:49:22,500 --> 00:49:23,700
[ The Beatles' "Love Me Do"
plays ]

1013
00:49:23,700 --> 00:49:27,166
They had not yet broken big.

1014
00:49:27,166 --> 00:49:29,100
They weren't major stars.

1015
00:49:29,100 --> 00:49:30,633
-♪ Love, love me do ♪

1016
00:49:30,633 --> 00:49:35,100
-To play on the same stage
as Little Richard was huge.

1017
00:49:35,100 --> 00:49:38,200
-♪ I'll always be true ♪

1018
00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:42,666
♪ So please ♪

1019
00:49:42,666 --> 00:49:45,533
♪ Love me do ♪

1020
00:49:45,533 --> 00:49:49,033
♪ Whoa-oh, love me do ♪

1021
00:49:49,033 --> 00:49:51,933
-And then, lo and behold,

1022
00:49:51,933 --> 00:49:56,433
Brian, the manager,
brought us backstage.

1023
00:49:56,433 --> 00:49:58,500
Little Richard, you know,
was this close.

1024
00:49:58,500 --> 00:50:00,000
It was so great.

1025
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:05,533
♪♪

1026
00:50:05,533 --> 00:50:06,966
-When did you meet the Beatles?

1027
00:50:06,966 --> 00:50:08,400
-In Liverpool.

1028
00:50:08,400 --> 00:50:13,766
Brian Epstein said,
"They want to just touch you."

1029
00:50:13,766 --> 00:50:15,533
Let me show this up
to the audience.

1030
00:50:15,533 --> 00:50:16,833
Looky there.

1031
00:50:16,833 --> 00:50:19,800
Paul grabbed my hand,
and he rubbed my shoulders.

1032
00:50:19,800 --> 00:50:21,633
John got my finger,

1033
00:50:21,633 --> 00:50:24,400
and George got my finger,
and Paul got my arm.

1034
00:50:24,400 --> 00:50:26,766
-And they made a wish.
[ Laughter ]

1035
00:50:26,766 --> 00:50:29,300
-They were just pulling back,
and I said, "Pull me."

1036
00:50:29,300 --> 00:50:32,666
♪♪

1037
00:50:32,666 --> 00:50:35,233
-We were blessed.

1038
00:50:35,233 --> 00:50:37,566
You know, if you look at music
and where rock came from,

1039
00:50:37,566 --> 00:50:40,000
he is right in there.

1040
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:41,866
♪♪

1041
00:50:41,866 --> 00:50:46,933
-When I first went to see him
in '62, I remember, you know,

1042
00:50:46,933 --> 00:50:48,466
you're just waiting for --

1043
00:50:48,466 --> 00:50:51,500
You couldn't wait to get there.

1044
00:50:51,500 --> 00:50:55,866
And then somebody said
he would only sing gospel.

1045
00:50:55,866 --> 00:50:58,300
We all looked, and we didn't
know what the hell to say or do.

1046
00:50:58,300 --> 00:50:59,933
[ Cheers and applause ]

1047
00:50:59,933 --> 00:51:02,300
-It's Little Richard!

1048
00:51:02,300 --> 00:51:06,600
[ Cheers and applause ]

1049
00:51:06,600 --> 00:51:13,833
♪♪

1050
00:51:13,833 --> 00:51:17,966
-In that moment, Richard sees
that he has to make a decision

1051
00:51:17,966 --> 00:51:21,066
about what kind of music
to perform.

1052
00:51:21,066 --> 00:51:24,433
♪♪

1053
00:51:24,433 --> 00:51:27,100
-I come from gospel music,
and it was definitely

1054
00:51:27,100 --> 00:51:29,266
a toss-up for me

1055
00:51:29,266 --> 00:51:32,233
when I switched from sacred
to secular music.

1056
00:51:32,233 --> 00:51:34,200
It's like the angel
on one shoulder

1057
00:51:34,200 --> 00:51:36,866
and a devil on another.

1058
00:51:36,866 --> 00:51:39,400
What are the church
gonna think?

1059
00:51:39,400 --> 00:51:42,433
What are the community
gonna think?

1060
00:51:42,433 --> 00:51:46,400
You have to try to find
which way that you want to go.

1061
00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:49,033
[ Notes play ]

1062
00:51:49,033 --> 00:51:50,833
[ Audience shouting ]

1063
00:51:50,833 --> 00:51:52,300
♪♪

1064
00:51:52,300 --> 00:51:53,733
-♪ Come on over, baby ♪

1065
00:51:53,733 --> 00:51:55,933
♪ Whole lotta shakin' going on ♪

1066
00:51:55,933 --> 00:51:58,433
♪♪

1067
00:51:58,433 --> 00:52:00,700
♪ So come on over, baby ♪

1068
00:52:00,700 --> 00:52:02,566
♪ You can't go wrong ♪

1069
00:52:02,566 --> 00:52:04,233
♪♪

1070
00:52:04,233 --> 00:52:06,233
♪ We ain't fakin' ♪

1071
00:52:06,233 --> 00:52:09,233
♪ A whole lotta shakin'
going on ♪

1072
00:52:09,233 --> 00:52:11,533
In a world of chaos
and commotion and strife,

1073
00:52:11,533 --> 00:52:13,800
we need a little joy.

1074
00:52:13,800 --> 00:52:16,766
I'll never leave my fans again
because they need me,

1075
00:52:16,766 --> 00:52:19,800
and I need them.
We help each other so much.

1076
00:52:19,800 --> 00:52:24,766
♪ Well, come on over, baby,
whole lotta shakin' goin' on ♪

1077
00:52:24,766 --> 00:52:26,000
♪ Whooo ♪

1078
00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:28,166
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

1079
00:52:28,166 --> 00:52:30,933
♪ A whole lotta shakin'
going on ♪

1080
00:52:30,933 --> 00:52:32,200
♪ Yeah ♪

1081
00:52:32,200 --> 00:52:34,166
♪ We ain't fakin' ♪

1082
00:52:34,166 --> 00:52:37,266
♪ A whole lotta shakin'
going on ♪

1083
00:52:37,266 --> 00:52:41,166
♪ Well, you gotta shake it,
baby, shake it ♪

1084
00:52:41,166 --> 00:52:42,666
♪ Won't you shake it ♪

1085
00:52:42,666 --> 00:52:43,633
♪ Whoooo ♪

1086
00:52:43,633 --> 00:52:45,900
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

1087
00:52:45,900 --> 00:52:48,800
♪ A whole lotta shakin'
going on ♪

1088
00:52:48,800 --> 00:52:50,066
♪ Yeah ♪

1089
00:52:50,066 --> 00:52:51,833
♪ We ain't fakin' ♪

1090
00:52:51,833 --> 00:52:55,133
♪ Whole lotta shakin' going on ♪

1091
00:52:55,133 --> 00:52:56,566
♪ Whoa, yeah ♪

1092
00:52:56,566 --> 00:53:00,500
♪ Shake it, baby, shake it ♪

1093
00:53:00,500 --> 00:53:01,433
♪ Whooo ♪

1094
00:53:01,433 --> 00:53:03,733
♪ Yeah, yeah, baby ♪

1095
00:53:03,733 --> 00:53:06,333
♪ A whole lotta shakin'
going on ♪

1096
00:53:06,333 --> 00:53:07,333
♪ Yeah ♪

1097
00:53:07,333 --> 00:53:09,133
♪ Come on over ♪

1098
00:53:09,133 --> 00:53:12,066
♪ A whole lotta shakin'
going on ♪

1099
00:53:12,066 --> 00:53:15,633
♪♪

1100
00:53:15,633 --> 00:53:21,000
-As a drummer, as a musician,
it was so great.

1101
00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:24,433
You know, a really great memory
for me, you know?

1102
00:53:24,433 --> 00:53:26,233
'Cause that was the start of it.

1103
00:53:26,233 --> 00:53:30,833
-♪ You know that can't be bad ♪

1104
00:53:30,833 --> 00:53:35,100
-He was like
a huge influence on us.

1105
00:53:35,100 --> 00:53:36,433
-♪ Whooo ♪

1106
00:53:36,433 --> 00:53:38,800
-Richard, did you really
teach Paul how to do that yell?

1107
00:53:38,800 --> 00:53:40,000
-Yes, I did.

1108
00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:41,500
-I loved all those interviews
he did

1109
00:53:41,500 --> 00:53:42,900
where he was telling everybody

1110
00:53:42,900 --> 00:53:45,133
that he taught Paul
how to yodel.

1111
00:53:45,133 --> 00:53:46,833
[ Laughs ]

1112
00:53:46,833 --> 00:53:48,733
-How did you do it?
-He was standing in the --

1113
00:53:48,733 --> 00:53:50,466
in the wing of the stage.

1114
00:53:50,466 --> 00:53:54,233
And I would say...
♪ Whoooo ooh-ooh-ooh ♪

1115
00:53:54,233 --> 00:53:55,833
He would say...
"Whoof!"

1116
00:53:55,833 --> 00:53:58,766
[ Laughter ]

1117
00:53:58,766 --> 00:53:59,966
I said...
♪ Whooo ♪

1118
00:53:59,966 --> 00:54:02,033
He said, "Whoof! Whoof!"

1119
00:54:02,033 --> 00:54:02,966
And I said...
♪ Whoo ♪

1120
00:54:02,966 --> 00:54:05,000
He go, "Whoof, whoof!"

1121
00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:08,133
-Well, he didn't teach him.
That was always the joke.

1122
00:54:08,133 --> 00:54:11,866
Paul just decided to "whooo,"
and Little Richard,

1123
00:54:11,866 --> 00:54:15,366
from that day on,

1124
00:54:15,366 --> 00:54:18,333
told him how
he taught Paul to "Whooo!"

1125
00:54:18,333 --> 00:54:20,333
But that was Little Richard.

1126
00:54:20,333 --> 00:54:21,733
And we loved the man.

1127
00:54:21,733 --> 00:54:24,133
♪♪

1128
00:54:24,133 --> 00:54:27,500
-What happens next is that
Little Richard

1129
00:54:27,500 --> 00:54:32,133
immediately gets booked to
headline another British tour.

1130
00:54:32,133 --> 00:54:35,433
-♪ Ain't had no lovin', baby,
since you know when ♪

1131
00:54:35,433 --> 00:54:38,433
♪ You know I love you,
yes, I do ♪

1132
00:54:38,433 --> 00:54:42,200
♪ I'm savin' all my lovin',
baby, just for you ♪

1133
00:54:42,200 --> 00:54:45,400
♪ I need your lovin',
and I need it bad ♪

1134
00:54:45,400 --> 00:54:48,366
-I was a total fan,
and the idea

1135
00:54:48,366 --> 00:54:51,900
of working with Richard
was just like a dream, you know?

1136
00:54:51,900 --> 00:54:54,266
-♪ Baby, won't you
give all your love to me ♪

1137
00:54:54,266 --> 00:54:57,400
-I was in my first week
as a rock 'n' roll star.

1138
00:54:57,400 --> 00:55:02,033
I mean, before that, I was just
a musician in a club band.

1139
00:55:02,033 --> 00:55:04,566
-The Rolling Stones
was opening my show.

1140
00:55:04,566 --> 00:55:07,066
-♪ Everything is wrong
since me and my baby parted ♪

1141
00:55:07,066 --> 00:55:08,800
♪ All day long I'm walkin' ♪

1142
00:55:08,800 --> 00:55:10,900
-Didn't nobody know them
but their mothers.

1143
00:55:10,900 --> 00:55:12,566
Mick, you know
I'm telling the truth.

1144
00:55:12,566 --> 00:55:13,833
Keith, I'm telling --

1145
00:55:13,833 --> 00:55:17,100
Didn't nobody know Keith and
Mick but their families.

1146
00:55:17,100 --> 00:55:18,433
It was really something.

1147
00:55:18,433 --> 00:55:20,266
-♪ Come on ♪

1148
00:55:20,266 --> 00:55:24,600
-So, suddenly, there we are
on this huge tour,

1149
00:55:24,600 --> 00:55:27,866
and Mick and I used to try

1150
00:55:27,866 --> 00:55:31,800
and find our way up
into the rafters of the theaters

1151
00:55:31,800 --> 00:55:35,700
and just watch it from above
and see how he operated.

1152
00:55:35,700 --> 00:55:37,466
♪♪

1153
00:55:37,466 --> 00:55:40,633
-♪ Well, Lawdy, Lawdy, Lawdy,
Lawdy, Miss Claudie ♪

1154
00:55:40,633 --> 00:55:41,966
♪ Whooo ♪

1155
00:55:41,966 --> 00:55:44,700
-It was an insight to how hard
you might have to work

1156
00:55:44,700 --> 00:55:48,800
if you wanted to do this stuff.
You know?

1157
00:55:48,800 --> 00:55:53,200
And he did it with
a beautiful nonchalance.

1158
00:55:53,200 --> 00:55:55,433
It was high-powered,

1159
00:55:55,433 --> 00:56:00,333
but you always had a feeling
that there was more in the tank.

1160
00:56:00,333 --> 00:56:03,266
-♪ You like to ball
every morning ♪

1161
00:56:03,266 --> 00:56:05,133
♪ Back home till late at night ♪

1162
00:56:05,133 --> 00:56:09,033
-It was a real lesson
in stagecraft,

1163
00:56:09,033 --> 00:56:12,166
especially since we hadn't
never seen a stage before.

1164
00:56:12,166 --> 00:56:15,733
-♪ Got to show them
what you mean ♪

1165
00:56:15,733 --> 00:56:17,466
♪ Well, please ♪

1166
00:56:17,466 --> 00:56:21,633
-That whole tour was
a university of rock 'n' roll.

1167
00:56:21,633 --> 00:56:22,766
-♪ Whoo! ♪

1168
00:56:22,766 --> 00:56:25,733
-Amazing.

1169
00:56:25,733 --> 00:56:29,000
And, also, I tell you what --
Richard --

1170
00:56:29,000 --> 00:56:30,866
he shows you
what fun it could all be.

1171
00:56:30,866 --> 00:56:33,833
♪♪

1172
00:56:33,833 --> 00:56:36,966
You know, I mean, he'd be
outrageously camp some nights

1173
00:56:36,966 --> 00:56:39,333
and, you know,
incredibly funny,

1174
00:56:39,333 --> 00:56:40,866
especially in the north
of England,

1175
00:56:40,866 --> 00:56:46,000
to watch the local bigwigs being
introduced to Little Richard,

1176
00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:51,033
and, oh, he would
mercilessly rag them.

1177
00:56:51,033 --> 00:56:53,266
It was --
you know, he'd kissed them.

1178
00:56:53,266 --> 00:56:54,733
You know?
He'd stroke them, you know?

1179
00:56:54,733 --> 00:56:57,800
[ Laughs ]

1180
00:56:57,800 --> 00:57:01,500
-Mick Jagger was sleeping on
the floor in Bo Diddley's room

1181
00:57:01,500 --> 00:57:03,733
because my room
was full, as always.

1182
00:57:03,733 --> 00:57:06,733
[ Laughter ]

1183
00:57:06,733 --> 00:57:08,966
I had nowhere to walk
because I was saying,

1184
00:57:08,966 --> 00:57:11,200
"Next! Next!"
[ Chuckles ]

1185
00:57:11,200 --> 00:57:15,966
[ Cheers and applause ]

1186
00:57:15,966 --> 00:57:18,300
-♪ Say the joint was a-rockin' ♪

1187
00:57:18,300 --> 00:57:21,466
-You just watched Mick Jagger.

1188
00:57:21,466 --> 00:57:24,366
You can see
he borrowed a lot of stuff

1189
00:57:24,366 --> 00:57:27,000
directly from blues
and rhythm and blues.

1190
00:57:27,000 --> 00:57:28,733
-♪ Never stopped rockin' ♪

1191
00:57:28,733 --> 00:57:30,466
♪ Till the moon went down ♪

1192
00:57:30,466 --> 00:57:34,566
-Imitation is
the sincerest form of flattery.

1193
00:57:34,566 --> 00:57:37,700
♪♪

1194
00:57:37,700 --> 00:57:39,266
-All right, now --
now let me ask you

1195
00:57:39,266 --> 00:57:41,033
what Mick Jagger learned
from you, Richard.

1196
00:57:41,033 --> 00:57:42,166
-How to walk.

1197
00:57:42,166 --> 00:57:44,733
[ Laughter ]

1198
00:57:44,733 --> 00:57:49,500
♪♪

1199
00:57:49,500 --> 00:57:51,133
-You know I'm telling you
the truth, Mick.

1200
00:57:51,133 --> 00:57:54,566
-♪ Well, at twelve o'clock ♪

1201
00:57:54,566 --> 00:57:57,933
-If you agree with that, Mick,
I'll put back on my glasses.

1202
00:57:57,933 --> 00:58:00,866
Okay.

1203
00:58:00,866 --> 00:58:04,066
-Just watch us.

1204
00:58:04,066 --> 00:58:06,200
You live and learn and borrow.
You know?

1205
00:58:06,200 --> 00:58:09,466
-♪ Till the moon went down ♪

1206
00:58:09,466 --> 00:58:13,700
-And it was after that tour,
playing with Little Richard,

1207
00:58:13,700 --> 00:58:16,466
The Rolling Stones
became The Rolling Stones.

1208
00:58:16,466 --> 00:58:19,200
♪♪

1209
00:58:19,200 --> 00:58:20,933
-It was really amazing to see

1210
00:58:20,933 --> 00:58:23,100
that these people
had been inspired by me.

1211
00:58:23,100 --> 00:58:28,300
♪♪

1212
00:58:28,300 --> 00:58:31,933
I felt unworthy
but blessed and thankful.

1213
00:58:38,133 --> 00:58:40,100
-Here we go from bar 40.

1214
00:58:43,433 --> 00:58:45,400
[ Speaking indistinctly ]

1215
00:58:45,400 --> 00:58:49,166
♪♪

1216
00:58:49,166 --> 00:58:51,233
-Little Richard
called me and said,

1217
00:58:51,233 --> 00:58:52,733
"Want you to produce the album."

1218
00:58:52,733 --> 00:58:55,366
Of course I go, "Yeah!"
You know.

1219
00:58:55,366 --> 00:58:57,833
It was fun, you know,
because this is the first time

1220
00:58:57,833 --> 00:59:00,300
that I can tell him what to do.

1221
00:59:00,300 --> 00:59:02,633
He'd say, "Oh, baby,
you work me too hard.

1222
00:59:02,633 --> 00:59:04,200
You work me like a slave."

1223
00:59:04,200 --> 00:59:05,966
♪♪

1224
00:59:05,966 --> 00:59:10,300
So it was quite an experience
for me and an honor for me.

1225
00:59:10,300 --> 00:59:12,300
We were talking about
we was gonna go on the road

1226
00:59:12,300 --> 00:59:16,266
and do a world tour
and everything.

1227
00:59:16,266 --> 00:59:17,700
Nothing really happened.

1228
00:59:17,700 --> 00:59:19,900
♪♪

1229
00:59:19,900 --> 00:59:23,166
-By the late '60s to early '70s,

1230
00:59:23,166 --> 00:59:25,233
Richard's new
rock 'n' roll records

1231
00:59:25,233 --> 00:59:27,733
were not selling.

1232
00:59:27,733 --> 00:59:31,666
Richard blamed the record label.

1233
00:59:31,666 --> 00:59:33,333
-I started asking
about my money,

1234
00:59:33,333 --> 00:59:35,933
and they stopped
pushing my records.

1235
00:59:35,933 --> 00:59:38,033
Soon as I wanted my money,
they stopped playing them

1236
00:59:38,033 --> 00:59:41,100
because they didn't
want to pay me.

1237
00:59:41,100 --> 00:59:44,133
That's the way it went.

1238
00:59:44,133 --> 00:59:47,033
That's the way it was.

1239
00:59:47,033 --> 00:59:53,166
-Little Richard felt like
it was because of racism.

1240
00:59:53,166 --> 00:59:58,533
And what is true is that,
in the world of popular music,

1241
00:59:58,533 --> 01:00:01,300
people are associating
rock 'n' roll

1242
01:00:01,300 --> 01:00:03,866
with white performers.

1243
01:00:03,866 --> 01:00:05,966
Now rock 'n' roll
has a white face.

1244
01:00:05,966 --> 01:00:08,800
[ The Rolling Stones'
"Jumping Jack Flash" plays ]

1245
01:00:08,800 --> 01:00:10,666
-As most of you
are well aware by now,

1246
01:00:10,666 --> 01:00:12,900
Beatlemania has hit
the United States

1247
01:00:12,900 --> 01:00:16,733
as the group has four of
the top-selling 20 records.

1248
01:00:16,733 --> 01:00:20,100
♪♪

1249
01:00:20,100 --> 01:00:25,033
-It was the Beatles and then,
later on, the Stones.

1250
01:00:25,033 --> 01:00:28,400
-There was a sort of total
sea change in America.

1251
01:00:28,400 --> 01:00:30,566
-Quarter of a million fans
of the Rolling Stones...

1252
01:00:30,566 --> 01:00:33,600
-The America
before the British Invasion

1253
01:00:33,600 --> 01:00:35,633
is a totally different place.

1254
01:00:35,633 --> 01:00:40,433
♪♪

1255
01:00:40,433 --> 01:00:43,166
Everything that went before,
they sort of

1256
01:00:43,166 --> 01:00:45,100
threw it in a garbage can.

1257
01:00:45,100 --> 01:00:46,966
It's amazing, you know,
because this is the stuff

1258
01:00:46,966 --> 01:00:49,833
that we're playing
back to them, you know?

1259
01:00:49,833 --> 01:00:51,266
[ Cheers and applause ]

1260
01:00:51,266 --> 01:00:53,900
It seems incredible to us.

1261
01:00:56,233 --> 01:00:59,233
♪♪

1262
01:00:59,233 --> 01:01:02,666
-It's easy to get discouraged.

1263
01:01:02,666 --> 01:01:06,333
In your heart,
you said, "Man, forget it."

1264
01:01:06,333 --> 01:01:07,500
And it makes you mad.
And then you say,

1265
01:01:07,500 --> 01:01:09,400
"Well, I'm just gonna do
what I do best."

1266
01:01:09,400 --> 01:01:12,633
♪♪

1267
01:01:12,633 --> 01:01:16,266
-Even though Little Richard
was being outsold

1268
01:01:16,266 --> 01:01:20,000
by the people
who were inspired by him,

1269
01:01:20,000 --> 01:01:23,533
the response from Richard,
it's so defiant.

1270
01:01:26,466 --> 01:01:30,666
-And that's when I started
looking more and more fabulous.

1271
01:01:30,666 --> 01:01:32,600
-You're beautiful!

1272
01:01:32,600 --> 01:01:34,533
-Everything I put on
was a diamond.

1273
01:01:34,533 --> 01:01:36,866
[ Crowd cheers ]

1274
01:01:36,866 --> 01:01:39,300
-When I started working
with him in the '70s,

1275
01:01:39,300 --> 01:01:42,033
he took it up at least
another hundred notches.

1276
01:01:42,033 --> 01:01:43,766
♪♪

1277
01:01:43,766 --> 01:01:47,066
He always was innovative
in what his style was like,

1278
01:01:47,066 --> 01:01:48,633
what his clothes was like,

1279
01:01:48,633 --> 01:01:51,000
what designs
he would be wearing.

1280
01:01:51,000 --> 01:01:53,033
It just went
to a whole nother level.

1281
01:01:53,033 --> 01:01:56,333
-Mr. L.R. -- Little Richard!

1282
01:01:56,333 --> 01:01:57,400
[ Cheers and applause ]

1283
01:01:57,400 --> 01:01:59,166
-You can see
the headbands and stuff

1284
01:01:59,166 --> 01:02:01,866
that he was wearing.

1285
01:02:01,866 --> 01:02:05,566
And that would mirror outfit
that he had on.

1286
01:02:05,566 --> 01:02:08,366
He was the pioneer of that look
in show business.

1287
01:02:08,366 --> 01:02:10,666
-♪ Lucille ♪

1288
01:02:10,666 --> 01:02:14,233
[ Singing indistinctly ]

1289
01:02:14,233 --> 01:02:15,733
♪ Lucille ♪

1290
01:02:15,733 --> 01:02:20,800
-He had no fear at all because
he was confident in who he was.

1291
01:02:20,800 --> 01:02:22,233
[ David Bowie's "Let's Dance"
plays ]

1292
01:02:22,233 --> 01:02:25,000
He brought glamour to rock.

1293
01:02:25,000 --> 01:02:27,533
-♪ Ahh ♪

1294
01:02:27,533 --> 01:02:31,333
-If you look at other artists
at that time,

1295
01:02:31,333 --> 01:02:32,466
you can see he's influenced

1296
01:02:32,466 --> 01:02:34,266
so many musicians
throughout the world.

1297
01:02:34,266 --> 01:02:36,666
♪♪

1298
01:02:36,666 --> 01:02:39,366
-In the year 1982,

1299
01:02:39,366 --> 01:02:41,933
when David Bowie
walked up to me

1300
01:02:41,933 --> 01:02:44,366
when we were thinking
about the album,

1301
01:02:44,366 --> 01:02:45,966
that would become
"Let's Dance"...

1302
01:02:45,966 --> 01:02:47,300
-♪ Put on your red shoes ♪

1303
01:02:47,300 --> 01:02:51,000
-...after doing a ton
of searching and listening

1304
01:02:51,000 --> 01:02:53,933
and going to different archives,
he walks up to my apartment,

1305
01:02:53,933 --> 01:02:56,866
and he's got something
behind his back.

1306
01:02:56,866 --> 01:02:58,933
Knocks on my door.
When I open the door,

1307
01:02:58,933 --> 01:03:01,166
and he says, "Now, darling,

1308
01:03:01,166 --> 01:03:05,633
I want my record
to sound like this looks."

1309
01:03:05,633 --> 01:03:07,333
And he goes wham.

1310
01:03:07,333 --> 01:03:09,666
He whips out a picture
of Little Richard.

1311
01:03:09,666 --> 01:03:12,833
As soon as he showed me that
and said that, we were done.

1312
01:03:12,833 --> 01:03:16,600
Like, "Let's go, bro.
I know -- I got it."

1313
01:03:16,600 --> 01:03:18,533
[ Cheers and applause ]

1314
01:03:18,533 --> 01:03:23,633
Little Richard was just
so far ahead of his time.

1315
01:03:23,633 --> 01:03:27,466
But it's hard to be a pioneer.

1316
01:03:27,466 --> 01:03:30,966
-Let all the womenfolk say,
"Whoo!"

1317
01:03:30,966 --> 01:03:33,966
Let all the men say, "Unh!"

1318
01:03:33,966 --> 01:03:37,066
Ooh, my soul.

1319
01:03:37,066 --> 01:03:41,466
I want you all to know that I am
the king of rock 'n' roll!

1320
01:03:41,466 --> 01:03:43,933
[ Cheers and applause ]

1321
01:03:43,933 --> 01:04:07,933
♪♪

1322
01:04:07,933 --> 01:04:09,733
-Well, after the gig,
once we got back

1323
01:04:09,733 --> 01:04:11,666
to the hotel room,

1324
01:04:11,666 --> 01:04:13,900
all kind of people
would be there.

1325
01:04:13,900 --> 01:04:15,033
"Yeah, I love you,
Little Richard!

1326
01:04:15,033 --> 01:04:17,733
I love you!"
[ Laughs ]

1327
01:04:17,733 --> 01:04:19,566
"You want this?
I'll do it to you.

1328
01:04:19,566 --> 01:04:21,700
Take off your clothes,
and let's do it."

1329
01:04:21,700 --> 01:04:23,466
There was just people like that.

1330
01:04:23,466 --> 01:04:25,833
And he -- he knew
where to get them,

1331
01:04:25,833 --> 01:04:28,466
how to get them, especially
if there's drugs involved.

1332
01:04:30,600 --> 01:04:33,733
-Everybody liked to go
to orgies -- everybody.

1333
01:04:33,733 --> 01:04:36,733
I just enjoyed sex
in its entirety.

1334
01:04:36,733 --> 01:04:39,066
Sex, to me,
was like a smorgasbord.

1335
01:04:39,066 --> 01:04:41,866
You should just go and pick
whatever you want.

1336
01:04:41,866 --> 01:04:47,200
And if you knocked on my door,
and I wanted mo', fo' sho'.

1337
01:04:47,200 --> 01:04:48,766
-He did it in excess.

1338
01:04:48,766 --> 01:04:50,533
Everything in excess.

1339
01:04:50,533 --> 01:04:54,933
You know?
Women, men, orgies.

1340
01:04:54,933 --> 01:05:00,933
Wine, whiskey, weed, angel dust,

1341
01:05:00,933 --> 01:05:03,366
cocaine, heroin --

1342
01:05:03,366 --> 01:05:05,666
It was called a speedball
when you mixed the two.

1343
01:05:05,666 --> 01:05:08,600
You inject the pure stuff,
it can kill you,

1344
01:05:08,600 --> 01:05:09,966
like some people I know,

1345
01:05:09,966 --> 01:05:12,033
some musicians I know
that did that.

1346
01:05:12,033 --> 01:05:13,900
It's not good.

1347
01:05:13,900 --> 01:05:15,566
♪♪

1348
01:05:15,566 --> 01:05:17,433
He had some demons
he had to fight.

1349
01:05:17,433 --> 01:05:21,033
♪♪

1350
01:05:21,033 --> 01:05:22,766
But I saw a side of Richard,

1351
01:05:22,766 --> 01:05:26,100
he just wanted to have peace
and maybe someone --

1352
01:05:26,100 --> 01:05:27,600
either a man or woman --

1353
01:05:27,600 --> 01:05:30,266
that he could share
his life with.

1354
01:05:30,266 --> 01:05:32,766
Someone that he loved.

1355
01:05:32,766 --> 01:05:35,733
♪♪

1356
01:05:35,733 --> 01:05:38,666
-I was lonely.
I felt that no one wanted me.

1357
01:05:38,666 --> 01:05:40,633
Although you had
millions of fans

1358
01:05:40,633 --> 01:05:42,400
screaming over you
all over the world,

1359
01:05:42,400 --> 01:05:44,533
but you just wanted somebody
to be with you personally

1360
01:05:44,533 --> 01:05:46,166
that said,
"Little Richard, I love you.

1361
01:05:46,166 --> 01:05:47,833
I care for you, Richard."

1362
01:05:51,133 --> 01:05:53,333
-Someone told him
that I was looking for him,

1363
01:05:53,333 --> 01:05:55,333
and he reached me.

1364
01:05:55,333 --> 01:06:00,800
I flew to Los Angeles,
and at the airport,

1365
01:06:00,800 --> 01:06:04,066
12:00 in the afternoon,
L.A.X.,

1366
01:06:04,066 --> 01:06:08,533
17 crazy-looking guys
got out of a limousine,

1367
01:06:08,533 --> 01:06:12,433
and Richard got out
with this red and gold

1368
01:06:12,433 --> 01:06:14,100
bat-winged outfit

1369
01:06:14,100 --> 01:06:17,400
and his pompadour and his makeup
yelling, "Shut up!"

1370
01:06:17,400 --> 01:06:21,066
♪♪

1371
01:06:21,066 --> 01:06:25,333
I saw the loneliest man
I'd ever seen in my life.

1372
01:06:25,333 --> 01:06:28,666
He was drinking.
He was doing drugs.

1373
01:06:28,666 --> 01:06:32,500
He was smoking,
which is funny.

1374
01:06:32,500 --> 01:06:34,700
In the beginning,
Richard didn't do anything.

1375
01:06:34,700 --> 01:06:39,333
He did not believe
in anyone doing these things.

1376
01:06:39,333 --> 01:06:43,733
He had me try PCP
for the first time,

1377
01:06:43,733 --> 01:06:46,900
and it just...
[ Sighs ]

1378
01:06:46,900 --> 01:06:48,866
-[ Muffled speaking ]

1379
01:06:48,866 --> 01:06:51,233
-He just wasn't
the person I knew anymore.

1380
01:06:51,233 --> 01:06:53,333
-[ Muffled speaking ]

1381
01:06:53,333 --> 01:07:00,266
♪♪

1382
01:07:00,266 --> 01:07:02,366
That's when I found out
that I had really fallen.

1383
01:07:02,366 --> 01:07:04,333
You know,
I started looking real old,

1384
01:07:04,333 --> 01:07:08,066
and I got real small,
and I got so that I didn't

1385
01:07:08,066 --> 01:07:09,600
want to see my mother
and my sisters and brothers.

1386
01:07:09,600 --> 01:07:11,600
'Cause I didn't want them
to see me in that condition.

1387
01:07:11,600 --> 01:07:15,566
♪♪

1388
01:07:15,566 --> 01:07:19,033
So I said, "It's time
to get right with God."

1389
01:07:19,033 --> 01:07:23,000
♪♪

1390
01:07:23,000 --> 01:07:25,733
-During that time,

1391
01:07:25,733 --> 01:07:28,400
well, he changed.

1392
01:07:28,400 --> 01:07:30,866
He came to my hotel room.

1393
01:07:30,866 --> 01:07:35,266
We talked for hours
about his life.

1394
01:07:35,266 --> 01:07:39,400
He didn't want to be
gay anymore.

1395
01:07:39,400 --> 01:07:43,566
♪♪

1396
01:07:43,566 --> 01:07:48,600
It's a pitiful thing to see
a person not loving himself.

1397
01:07:48,600 --> 01:07:50,633
He just came to a point
where he said,

1398
01:07:50,633 --> 01:07:52,466
"I don't want
to do this anymore.

1399
01:07:52,466 --> 01:07:55,500
I don't want
to be rock 'n' roll.

1400
01:07:55,500 --> 01:07:57,700
I don't want to be
Little Richard."

1401
01:07:57,700 --> 01:07:59,200
-♪ Lady ♪

1402
01:07:59,200 --> 01:08:02,766
[ Telephone ringing ]

1403
01:08:02,766 --> 01:08:07,200
♪♪

1404
01:08:07,200 --> 01:08:10,533
-My brother Tony called me
and asked me to see him.

1405
01:08:10,533 --> 01:08:13,633
♪♪

1406
01:08:13,633 --> 01:08:15,333
Instead of going to see Tony,

1407
01:08:15,333 --> 01:08:17,400
I picked up a guy
by the name of Tom.

1408
01:08:17,400 --> 01:08:21,800
♪♪

1409
01:08:21,800 --> 01:08:23,166
And we went and checked
into a hotel

1410
01:08:23,166 --> 01:08:24,433
and just have a good time
to get high

1411
01:08:24,433 --> 01:08:26,100
and let it all hang out.

1412
01:08:28,100 --> 01:08:32,966
The next morning, my brother
fell dead from a heart attack.

1413
01:08:32,966 --> 01:08:38,000
♪♪

1414
01:08:38,000 --> 01:08:42,633
-When Richard's
brother Tony died,

1415
01:08:42,633 --> 01:08:45,166
that had a profound effect
on him.

1416
01:08:45,166 --> 01:08:48,833
♪♪

1417
01:08:48,833 --> 01:08:51,866
He felt he should have gone
to see his brother.

1418
01:08:51,866 --> 01:08:55,900
And so that guilt laid on him,
and it magnified in his mind.

1419
01:08:55,900 --> 01:09:00,700
♪♪

1420
01:09:00,700 --> 01:09:03,600
This was the last straw.

1421
01:09:03,600 --> 01:09:06,666
The parties and the cocaine,
it's the orgies,

1422
01:09:06,666 --> 01:09:08,566
all of that was over.

1423
01:09:13,733 --> 01:09:16,366
[ Gospel music plays ]

1424
01:09:16,366 --> 01:09:28,666
♪♪

1425
01:09:28,666 --> 01:09:30,833
-He was the king
of rock 'n' roll.

1426
01:09:30,833 --> 01:09:33,166
Now he's the child of the king.

1427
01:09:33,166 --> 01:09:36,633
Let's welcome and receive
the one and only

1428
01:09:36,633 --> 01:09:38,800
Brother Little Richard!
Come on!

1429
01:09:38,800 --> 01:09:41,000
[ Applause ]

1430
01:09:41,000 --> 01:09:52,666
♪♪

1431
01:09:52,666 --> 01:09:56,166
-I didn't come here to preach.
I came here just to talk to you.

1432
01:09:56,166 --> 01:09:58,200
And I'm not that type
of preacher.

1433
01:09:58,200 --> 01:09:59,400
You know,
I know you probably figured

1434
01:09:59,400 --> 01:10:01,400
I was gonna start
moaning and groaning.

1435
01:10:01,400 --> 01:10:02,800
[ Laughter ]

1436
01:10:02,800 --> 01:10:04,400
My granddaddy used to do that

1437
01:10:04,400 --> 01:10:05,866
and kill me
when he'd get to the house.

1438
01:10:05,866 --> 01:10:08,133
[ Laughter ]

1439
01:10:08,133 --> 01:10:10,333
Yes, my granddaddy would
get down Sunday morning.

1440
01:10:10,333 --> 01:10:12,500
♪ Mmm ♪

1441
01:10:12,500 --> 01:10:14,333
Sister said,
"Go on and tell it, Preacher!"

1442
01:10:14,333 --> 01:10:15,966
♪ Whoa-oh ♪

1443
01:10:15,966 --> 01:10:16,966
Said, "Go on and tell it..."

1444
01:10:16,966 --> 01:10:18,866
♪ So, my ♪

1445
01:10:18,866 --> 01:10:19,966
Said, "Going to church."

1446
01:10:19,966 --> 01:10:21,633
♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪

1447
01:10:21,633 --> 01:10:24,033
Said, "Go on and preach it!

1448
01:10:24,033 --> 01:10:27,166
So, my, my, my,
it's a talent!

1449
01:10:27,166 --> 01:10:28,066
♪ Whooa ♪

1450
01:10:28,066 --> 01:10:29,633
Talent!
Hey, talent!

1451
01:10:29,633 --> 01:10:31,266
Whoo!
Talent!"

1452
01:10:31,266 --> 01:10:32,500
He ain't told him nothing yet.

1453
01:10:32,500 --> 01:10:35,166
[ Laughter and applause ]

1454
01:10:35,166 --> 01:10:37,400
I'm an evangelist now.

1455
01:10:37,400 --> 01:10:41,166
I feel high all the time,
but I don't take anything.

1456
01:10:41,166 --> 01:10:42,666
I just don't have a desire.

1457
01:10:42,666 --> 01:10:47,133
I think that my day should be
spent now, at the age of 52,

1458
01:10:47,133 --> 01:10:48,500
spreading the gospel.

1459
01:10:48,500 --> 01:10:51,300
Well, the Bible said,
"For what shall it profit a man

1460
01:10:51,300 --> 01:10:53,866
if he should gain
the whole world

1461
01:10:53,866 --> 01:10:57,000
and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give..."

1462
01:10:57,000 --> 01:11:00,400
-Sweet hearing his voice.

1463
01:11:00,400 --> 01:11:03,966
And the first time I saw him
administer the gospel,

1464
01:11:03,966 --> 01:11:07,900
I just knew this was --
this was an incredible guy.

1465
01:11:07,900 --> 01:11:11,700
-I came here tonight to tell you
that Jesus loves you.

1466
01:11:11,700 --> 01:11:15,966
How God changed me from being
homosexual and made me a man.

1467
01:11:15,966 --> 01:11:17,633
Do you want to hear
that tonight?

1468
01:11:17,633 --> 01:11:19,400
Do you want to hear it?
[ Congregants cheer ]

1469
01:11:19,400 --> 01:11:22,466
-What he was doing
was revealing himself

1470
01:11:22,466 --> 01:11:26,066
and revealing
we all have demons.

1471
01:11:26,066 --> 01:11:29,100
-I didn't know that
homosexuality was wrong

1472
01:11:29,100 --> 01:11:31,000
until I read it
in the Bible!

1473
01:11:31,000 --> 01:11:34,000
-Oh, yeah!
I mean, what --

1474
01:11:34,000 --> 01:11:40,066
When you come out and pronounce
it publicly like that, to say,

1475
01:11:40,066 --> 01:11:45,500
"Okay. I took a left turn
instead of a right turn,

1476
01:11:45,500 --> 01:11:49,700
but I'm on the right path now,
and this is the reason why.

1477
01:11:49,700 --> 01:11:51,366
And I'm on
the right path so much,

1478
01:11:51,366 --> 01:11:54,500
I don't care about where
you know I came from.

1479
01:11:54,500 --> 01:11:56,300
Look at where I'm going.

1480
01:11:56,300 --> 01:11:58,300
And I'm telling you,
that's where you need to go."

1481
01:11:58,300 --> 01:12:02,633
[ Cheers and applause ]

1482
01:12:02,633 --> 01:12:04,600
-Richard, how are you?
Nice to see you.

1483
01:12:04,600 --> 01:12:06,933
-When he goes on
"David Letterman,"

1484
01:12:06,933 --> 01:12:08,866
the first thing
that's really striking to me

1485
01:12:08,866 --> 01:12:13,100
is that he doesn't look like
Little Richard.

1486
01:12:13,100 --> 01:12:14,800
Not the one that I knew.

1487
01:12:14,800 --> 01:12:16,466
-This would be Little Richard.

1488
01:12:16,466 --> 01:12:20,566
-Looks like he's gonna go
sell used cars.

1489
01:12:20,566 --> 01:12:25,066
And the producers show footage
of him from the '70s.

1490
01:12:25,066 --> 01:12:27,933
♪♪

1491
01:12:27,933 --> 01:12:31,433
This is the person
who brought queer aesthetics

1492
01:12:31,433 --> 01:12:33,100
into rock 'n' roll.

1493
01:12:33,100 --> 01:12:34,766
-Little Richard.
[ Cheers and applause ]

1494
01:12:34,766 --> 01:12:38,966
-But you can really see
a sadness.

1495
01:12:38,966 --> 01:12:43,900
I think that he does have
this kind of internal conflict

1496
01:12:43,900 --> 01:12:47,200
about the music
that he was performing

1497
01:12:47,200 --> 01:12:49,600
and the way
that he presented himself.

1498
01:12:49,600 --> 01:12:51,333
-When you see yourself in action
in the old days,

1499
01:12:51,333 --> 01:12:53,933
you want to get back into it
on that level?

1500
01:12:53,933 --> 01:12:55,866
-I'm just so glad
God brought me out of that.

1501
01:12:55,866 --> 01:12:57,433
I never knew I looked like that.

1502
01:12:57,433 --> 01:12:58,833
[ Laughter ]

1503
01:12:58,833 --> 01:13:01,400
I'm just so glad that God
was able to clean me up

1504
01:13:01,400 --> 01:13:03,600
and wash me up,
and thank you, Lord.

1505
01:13:03,600 --> 01:13:08,333
-I think he came there
to almost apologize.

1506
01:13:08,333 --> 01:13:11,400
Preaching against homosexuality.

1507
01:13:11,400 --> 01:13:13,400
-You keep saying one
provocative thing after another.

1508
01:13:13,400 --> 01:13:15,333
You used to be gay,
but now you're not.

1509
01:13:15,333 --> 01:13:17,733
-I'm not. I'm a man
for the first time in my life.

1510
01:13:17,733 --> 01:13:19,966
-Yeah.
-I know how you feel now.

1511
01:13:19,966 --> 01:13:24,633
[ Laughter and applause ]

1512
01:13:24,633 --> 01:13:27,200
-In life,
we have to make choices.

1513
01:13:27,200 --> 01:13:30,266
He chose one over the other.

1514
01:13:30,266 --> 01:13:33,166
-Wop-bop-a-loo-bop,
alop-bam-boom -- Little Richard.

1515
01:13:33,166 --> 01:13:37,133
-The architect of rock 'n' roll
wasn't playing rock.

1516
01:13:37,133 --> 01:13:38,966
-Do you miss anything
of your old life,

1517
01:13:38,966 --> 01:13:41,366
of the rock-star adulation?

1518
01:13:41,366 --> 01:13:43,633
-No, I don't miss --
I don't miss it,

1519
01:13:43,633 --> 01:13:45,833
because I came
from rock 'n' roll

1520
01:13:45,833 --> 01:13:47,300
to the Rock of Ages,
so I can't miss it.

1521
01:13:47,300 --> 01:13:49,666
I have something better.

1522
01:13:49,666 --> 01:13:51,733
-Well, at that stage,
I was a journalist

1523
01:13:51,733 --> 01:13:55,866
and rock 'n' roll D.J.

1524
01:13:55,866 --> 01:13:57,800
I went to interview him.

1525
01:13:57,800 --> 01:14:01,133
♪♪

1526
01:14:01,133 --> 01:14:04,833
He spotted this guy
painting a house.

1527
01:14:04,833 --> 01:14:06,866
And he pulled in.

1528
01:14:06,866 --> 01:14:08,133
"Oh, yeah.
Hi, there, brother.

1529
01:14:08,133 --> 01:14:10,366
How you doing?"
"Oh, it's Little Richard!"

1530
01:14:10,366 --> 01:14:12,866
And he comes up and
throw his arms around him

1531
01:14:12,866 --> 01:14:15,766
and all of that.

1532
01:14:15,766 --> 01:14:18,433
He just loved people.

1533
01:14:18,433 --> 01:14:24,333
And you could see
the confusion in his life.

1534
01:14:24,333 --> 01:14:28,966
I asked him,
"Can I write your life story?"

1535
01:14:28,966 --> 01:14:33,066
The things he told me
just left you gobsmacked.

1536
01:14:33,066 --> 01:14:35,766
♪♪

1537
01:14:38,400 --> 01:14:41,266
-This week sees the publication
of one of the most remarkable

1538
01:14:41,266 --> 01:14:45,166
and revealing accounts ever
of the life of a major pop star.

1539
01:14:45,166 --> 01:14:47,866
-Well, joining us right now
is a true legend.

1540
01:14:47,866 --> 01:14:49,833
-Get up and applaud
Mr. Little Richard.

1541
01:14:49,833 --> 01:14:52,800
-Would you welcome
Little Richard.

1542
01:14:52,800 --> 01:14:57,566
-This resurgence of my fame,
it made me feel alive again.

1543
01:14:57,566 --> 01:15:00,500
And I just thank God
for Dr. Rock

1544
01:15:00,500 --> 01:15:03,900
coming over and
writing a book on my life.

1545
01:15:03,900 --> 01:15:06,866
-When he's promoting the book,

1546
01:15:06,866 --> 01:15:08,800
there is a sense of pride.

1547
01:15:08,800 --> 01:15:11,133
-I am young and beautiful!
Am I right?

1548
01:15:11,133 --> 01:15:12,200
[ Cheers and applause ]

1549
01:15:12,200 --> 01:15:13,666
-He's very candid.

1550
01:15:13,666 --> 01:15:16,066
-You were not afraid to
write truthfully...

1551
01:15:16,066 --> 01:15:17,233
-That's right.
-...about some things

1552
01:15:17,233 --> 01:15:18,600
that people would not.
You weren't afraid

1553
01:15:18,600 --> 01:15:20,933
to write about drugs.
You weren't afraid to write --

1554
01:15:20,933 --> 01:15:22,666
-About sex.
-Your sex life.

1555
01:15:22,666 --> 01:15:26,100
-He's thinking about life
and who he was.

1556
01:15:26,100 --> 01:15:30,233
-I want to say this
about the word "homosexual."

1557
01:15:30,233 --> 01:15:33,333
Personally, I don't like
that word, "homosexual."

1558
01:15:33,333 --> 01:15:36,133
I want to say "gay,"
being gay.

1559
01:15:36,133 --> 01:15:38,366
I would like to say that.

1560
01:15:38,366 --> 01:15:42,066
One thing that I've learned
in my evangelism,

1561
01:15:42,066 --> 01:15:43,533
discrimination and segregation

1562
01:15:43,533 --> 01:15:45,600
is so heavily still
in the world today.

1563
01:15:45,600 --> 01:15:48,633
I see it now how people
segregate against a person

1564
01:15:48,633 --> 01:15:53,300
because they're gay.
God loves us all.

1565
01:15:53,300 --> 01:15:56,333
-All of those things that
he didn't think that was fair

1566
01:15:56,333 --> 01:15:58,666
he was ready to talk about.

1567
01:15:58,666 --> 01:16:00,833
-Richard Penniman, better known
as Little Richard,

1568
01:16:00,833 --> 01:16:02,966
filed suit
in federal court this week,

1569
01:16:02,966 --> 01:16:05,133
claiming he's been defrauded
of music royalties

1570
01:16:05,133 --> 01:16:07,100
due him since 1959.

1571
01:16:07,100 --> 01:16:09,000
-Little Richard made headlines

1572
01:16:09,000 --> 01:16:11,533
when he sued Specialty Records.

1573
01:16:11,533 --> 01:16:12,900
-Yeah, a lot of people
would think that

1574
01:16:12,900 --> 01:16:15,166
you're a millionaire by now,
many times over.

1575
01:16:15,166 --> 01:16:18,633
-I am, but I just haven't
received the millions.

1576
01:16:18,633 --> 01:16:20,166
I'm not only standing
for myself,

1577
01:16:20,166 --> 01:16:22,900
but I'm standing
for many Black people

1578
01:16:22,900 --> 01:16:25,333
that have been ripped off
that was not paid,

1579
01:16:25,333 --> 01:16:27,766
and they was used and abused.

1580
01:16:27,766 --> 01:16:28,866
♪♪

1581
01:16:28,866 --> 01:16:30,733
-For Black performers,

1582
01:16:30,733 --> 01:16:35,866
the standard dues back then
for royalties was like 2%.

1583
01:16:35,866 --> 01:16:39,200
Who gets the other 98%?
Hey, you know it.

1584
01:16:39,200 --> 01:16:41,566
[ Laughs ]

1585
01:16:41,566 --> 01:16:44,266
-I'm not asking for nothing
that don't belong to me.

1586
01:16:44,266 --> 01:16:47,533
All I want is
what I have earned.

1587
01:16:47,533 --> 01:16:49,833
And I would appreciate it
so much.

1588
01:16:49,833 --> 01:16:54,466
-I grew up hearing
rock 'n' roll was robbed.

1589
01:16:54,466 --> 01:16:56,400
Black people invented
rock and roll,

1590
01:16:56,400 --> 01:16:58,133
but they were exploited.

1591
01:16:58,133 --> 01:16:59,500
-Last summer, Congress looked

1592
01:16:59,500 --> 01:17:02,666
into the ripoff
of artists and writers.

1593
01:17:02,666 --> 01:17:05,333
-When Richard winds up settling,

1594
01:17:05,333 --> 01:17:10,466
he also proved all of
those stories to be correct.

1595
01:17:10,466 --> 01:17:13,300
-And I want to commend you
on behalf of all of those

1596
01:17:13,300 --> 01:17:16,966
who've been afraid to come
forward prior to this time.

1597
01:17:16,966 --> 01:17:20,566
♪♪

1598
01:17:20,566 --> 01:17:22,600
-He did get a settlement
from Specialty.

1599
01:17:22,600 --> 01:17:26,233
♪♪

1600
01:17:26,233 --> 01:17:30,400
The settlement allowed him
to live in a hotel.

1601
01:17:30,400 --> 01:17:34,033
He loved hotels because he loved
the room service

1602
01:17:34,033 --> 01:17:36,033
and all of that stuff.

1603
01:17:36,033 --> 01:17:39,100
And, of course,
I would go visit him.

1604
01:17:39,100 --> 01:17:44,400
And he would want to talk
about the music of the time.

1605
01:17:44,400 --> 01:17:45,633
"Who's this new thing?

1606
01:17:45,633 --> 01:17:48,266
Who's this new guy coming up,
you know?"

1607
01:17:48,266 --> 01:17:51,100
♪♪

1608
01:17:51,100 --> 01:17:52,533
-♪ Don't have to be beautiful ♪

1609
01:17:52,533 --> 01:17:57,733
-Hair, makeup, looked very, very
like Little Richard.

1610
01:17:57,733 --> 01:17:59,000
He said, "I was the first one!

1611
01:17:59,000 --> 01:18:01,400
I was doing it before y'all.

1612
01:18:01,400 --> 01:18:03,866
Prince, are you listening?"

1613
01:18:03,866 --> 01:18:05,866
He would constantly say that.

1614
01:18:05,866 --> 01:18:09,100
"There wouldn't be no Prince or
no Michael Jackson without me."

1615
01:18:09,100 --> 01:18:12,900
♪♪

1616
01:18:12,900 --> 01:18:15,133
-♪ Your butt is mine ♪

1617
01:18:15,133 --> 01:18:17,133
♪ Gon' tell you right, ah ♪

1618
01:18:17,133 --> 01:18:18,566
♪ Just show your face ♪

1619
01:18:18,566 --> 01:18:21,066
-When you look at
Michael Jackson

1620
01:18:21,066 --> 01:18:24,400
with his own
feminine aesthetic...

1621
01:18:24,400 --> 01:18:26,166
-♪ I'm bad, I'm bad ♪

1622
01:18:26,166 --> 01:18:30,700
-...the look and style,
the whoops and hollers...

1623
01:18:30,700 --> 01:18:31,733
-Whoo!

1624
01:18:31,733 --> 01:18:34,366
-They've upset
these firm divisions

1625
01:18:34,366 --> 01:18:36,166
between masculine and feminine.

1626
01:18:36,166 --> 01:18:39,166
So I don't think we get
to a Michael Jackson moment

1627
01:18:39,166 --> 01:18:43,233
without a Little Richard moment
three decades earlier.

1628
01:18:43,233 --> 01:18:45,733
In fact, you can find
similar examples

1629
01:18:45,733 --> 01:18:49,966
all the way through the '80s.

1630
01:18:49,966 --> 01:18:54,100
-I remember the first time
I ever met Little Richard

1631
01:18:54,100 --> 01:18:56,733
and the first time
I met Liza Minnelli.

1632
01:18:56,733 --> 01:19:00,000
-♪ Good times ♪

1633
01:19:00,000 --> 01:19:03,766
-And both of them commented
on what I was wearing.

1634
01:19:03,766 --> 01:19:05,200
[ Laughs ]

1635
01:19:05,200 --> 01:19:07,500
I mean, Liza --
this is her exact words.

1636
01:19:07,500 --> 01:19:10,033
She went, "I want that, that,
that, that, that, that,

1637
01:19:10,033 --> 01:19:11,366
that, and that."

1638
01:19:11,366 --> 01:19:13,533
And Little Richard said
something to the effect of,

1639
01:19:13,533 --> 01:19:14,966
"What are you
talking about, baby?

1640
01:19:14,966 --> 01:19:17,400
I did that 25, 30 years ago."

1641
01:19:17,400 --> 01:19:18,600
[ Laughs ]

1642
01:19:18,600 --> 01:19:20,466
-♪ Good times ♪

1643
01:19:20,466 --> 01:19:22,933
-He always made me laugh.

1644
01:19:22,933 --> 01:19:26,933
But Little Richard,
at that moment,

1645
01:19:26,933 --> 01:19:28,466
is telling you everything

1646
01:19:28,466 --> 01:19:33,966
about the world of being
a Black artist in his time.

1647
01:19:33,966 --> 01:19:37,266
-I think if you think about
who invented rock 'n' roll,

1648
01:19:37,266 --> 01:19:42,033
who did create
this style of music,

1649
01:19:42,033 --> 01:19:44,666
usually, you know,
your Elvis Presleys

1650
01:19:44,666 --> 01:19:46,066
get the accolades.

1651
01:19:46,066 --> 01:19:48,933
-Presley died at the age of 42
at Graceland,

1652
01:19:48,933 --> 01:19:51,166
the mansion his music
had paid for.

1653
01:19:51,166 --> 01:19:54,066
-He was the undisputed
king of rock 'n' roll.

1654
01:19:54,066 --> 01:19:59,100
♪♪

1655
01:19:59,100 --> 01:20:01,333
-He was the birth
of rock 'n' roll,

1656
01:20:01,333 --> 01:20:04,400
and he'll live on forever.

1657
01:20:04,400 --> 01:20:08,566
-I would've thought Elvis gotta
be the king of rock 'n' roll.

1658
01:20:08,566 --> 01:20:11,400
♪♪

1659
01:20:11,400 --> 01:20:14,400
-I like Elvis very much.
Yeah.

1660
01:20:14,400 --> 01:20:21,100
But Richard was the one that
created a new type of music.

1661
01:20:21,100 --> 01:20:25,266
But the white media
would always put Elvis first.

1662
01:20:25,266 --> 01:20:27,133
-When I started singing
rock 'n' roll,

1663
01:20:27,133 --> 01:20:29,433
wasn't nobody singing it.

1664
01:20:29,433 --> 01:20:32,966
Listen, when I started, "Whoo!"
wasn't nobody sayin' that.

1665
01:20:32,966 --> 01:20:34,766
-We found it very hard.

1666
01:20:34,766 --> 01:20:36,400
That was the way it was.

1667
01:20:36,400 --> 01:20:38,366
Racism in America.

1668
01:20:38,366 --> 01:20:40,533
-See, they didn't want
a Black guy to be the one

1669
01:20:40,533 --> 01:20:43,133
to create rock 'n' roll
'cause the white kids liked it,

1670
01:20:43,133 --> 01:20:44,566
and they didn't want
the white girls screaming

1671
01:20:44,566 --> 01:20:45,700
over no Black boy.

1672
01:20:45,700 --> 01:20:47,566
[ Cheers and applause ]

1673
01:20:47,566 --> 01:20:50,266
And by me being --
by me being a Black guy

1674
01:20:50,266 --> 01:20:52,066
and a good-looking Black guy...

1675
01:20:52,066 --> 01:20:53,466
[ Cheers and applause ]

1676
01:20:53,466 --> 01:20:57,400
-When he'd got on TV,
he seemed so jolly.

1677
01:20:57,400 --> 01:21:00,900
He seemed so friendly about it.

1678
01:21:00,900 --> 01:21:02,300
-And you know
I'm not conceited.

1679
01:21:02,300 --> 01:21:04,233
-No, no.
-I've never been that way.

1680
01:21:04,233 --> 01:21:05,600
-No.
-You know I don't believe

1681
01:21:05,600 --> 01:21:07,900
in stuff like that.
-I hope nobody mistakes this...

1682
01:21:07,900 --> 01:21:09,266
-I hope --
I'm not --

1683
01:21:09,266 --> 01:21:11,066
You all, I'm not conceited.

1684
01:21:11,066 --> 01:21:12,833
-No!

1685
01:21:12,833 --> 01:21:14,733
-I'm convinced.
[ Laughter ]

1686
01:21:14,733 --> 01:21:18,033
-He'd laugh and joke about it
on TV.

1687
01:21:18,033 --> 01:21:19,800
But it wasn't funny to Richard.

1688
01:21:22,033 --> 01:21:25,000
My friend Richard.

1689
01:21:25,000 --> 01:21:27,266
If he were living today,
I wouldn't say this.

1690
01:21:29,266 --> 01:21:32,066
In the back room,
when we was alone,

1691
01:21:32,066 --> 01:21:35,933
he had tears in his eyes.

1692
01:21:35,933 --> 01:21:39,533
You could see the hurt.

1693
01:21:39,533 --> 01:21:42,366
I understood him so much.

1694
01:21:42,366 --> 01:21:44,833
Not just as a man,
as a blues singer,

1695
01:21:44,833 --> 01:21:47,200
as a Black man.

1696
01:21:47,200 --> 01:21:50,000
They stole his music.

1697
01:21:50,000 --> 01:21:52,933
And when they
crowned people as

1698
01:21:52,933 --> 01:21:55,300
the king of rock 'n' roll,
and it wasn't him,

1699
01:21:55,300 --> 01:21:58,033
that tore Richard.

1700
01:21:58,033 --> 01:22:06,533
♪♪

1701
01:22:06,533 --> 01:22:08,866
-The Grammy Awards
here in New York.

1702
01:22:08,866 --> 01:22:10,300
-It's the first time
the ceremony

1703
01:22:10,300 --> 01:22:12,633
has been
held here in seven years

1704
01:22:12,633 --> 01:22:15,400
as the music business gathers
to honor its best.

1705
01:22:15,400 --> 01:22:19,466
-The Grammys are
the industry's way

1706
01:22:19,466 --> 01:22:21,900
of celebrating itself.

1707
01:22:21,900 --> 01:22:24,833
-Right here, honey!
-Okay.

1708
01:22:24,833 --> 01:22:26,866
Wait a minute. I'm gonna smile
like a white lady.

1709
01:22:26,866 --> 01:22:29,700
[ Laughter and cheers ]

1710
01:22:29,700 --> 01:22:31,066
-♪ Way you make-a me feel ♪

1711
01:22:31,066 --> 01:22:34,900
-And that year,
you know, Michael Jackson

1712
01:22:34,900 --> 01:22:36,133
was supposed to be

1713
01:22:36,133 --> 01:22:40,033
the glittery center
of this show.

1714
01:22:40,033 --> 01:22:42,433
But, you know,
Little Richard had been invited

1715
01:22:42,433 --> 01:22:43,500
to the party.

1716
01:22:43,500 --> 01:22:45,266
-The one and only
Little Richard!

1717
01:22:45,266 --> 01:22:50,833
-And even though he's never
been given a Grammy Award,

1718
01:22:50,833 --> 01:22:53,233
he's there presenting one.

1719
01:22:53,233 --> 01:23:00,166
[ Cheers and applause ]

1720
01:23:00,166 --> 01:23:01,500
-What?

1721
01:23:01,500 --> 01:23:03,133
-I used to wear my hair
like that.

1722
01:23:03,133 --> 01:23:04,800
[ Laughter ]

1723
01:23:04,800 --> 01:23:07,433
They take everything I get.
They take it from me.

1724
01:23:07,433 --> 01:23:09,833
-Hoo!
-He can't get that, though.

1725
01:23:09,833 --> 01:23:11,600
-[ Laughs ]

1726
01:23:11,600 --> 01:23:13,200
All right, now --
-Wait a minute.

1727
01:23:13,200 --> 01:23:15,700
Look at the hair.
-You could see it was tense.

1728
01:23:15,700 --> 01:23:18,233
-I used to wear my -- I used to
hide Easter eggs in mine.

1729
01:23:18,233 --> 01:23:21,200
-He's influenced all these
people throughout his career.

1730
01:23:21,200 --> 01:23:23,400
-Now?
-Shut up.

1731
01:23:23,400 --> 01:23:24,700
[ Laughter ]

1732
01:23:24,700 --> 01:23:27,133
-He didn't get his just do.

1733
01:23:27,133 --> 01:23:30,933
But Richard didn't
just lay down and cry.

1734
01:23:30,933 --> 01:23:33,266
-And the Best New Artist is...

1735
01:23:33,266 --> 01:23:35,800
-He did what he needed to do.

1736
01:23:35,800 --> 01:23:37,133
[ Laughter ]

1737
01:23:37,133 --> 01:23:38,133
-Me.

1738
01:23:38,133 --> 01:23:40,866
[ Laughter, cheers, applause ]

1739
01:23:40,866 --> 01:23:42,533
I have never received nothing.

1740
01:23:42,533 --> 01:23:44,166
You all ain't never gave me
no Grammy.

1741
01:23:44,166 --> 01:23:47,500
[ Laughter ]
And I been singing for years.

1742
01:23:47,500 --> 01:23:49,166
I am the architect
of rock 'n' roll.

1743
01:23:49,166 --> 01:23:51,400
You ain't never gave me nothing!

1744
01:23:51,400 --> 01:23:54,700
-That was a beautiful moment.

1745
01:23:54,700 --> 01:23:57,033
You can see everybody
in the audience think

1746
01:23:57,033 --> 01:24:00,166
that it's time
to give him his flowers.

1747
01:24:00,166 --> 01:24:03,033
-And I am the originator.
[ Cheers and applause ]

1748
01:24:03,033 --> 01:24:05,066
And I still say, "Whooo!"

1749
01:24:05,066 --> 01:24:10,833
[ Cheers and applause ]

1750
01:24:10,833 --> 01:24:13,800
And the winner is...still me.

1751
01:24:13,800 --> 01:24:15,800
[ Laughter ]

1752
01:24:15,800 --> 01:24:19,466
-When I watch that footage,
it reminds me of church,

1753
01:24:19,466 --> 01:24:21,866
where people get up and testify,

1754
01:24:21,866 --> 01:24:24,300
where they lay
their burdens down.

1755
01:24:24,300 --> 01:24:26,566
And that's the path
to salvation.

1756
01:24:26,566 --> 01:24:30,900
So Little Richard came
to testify on this night.

1757
01:24:30,900 --> 01:24:33,533
And he does it
in such a Little Richard way.

1758
01:24:33,533 --> 01:24:35,433
-Shut up.
[ Laughter ]

1759
01:24:35,433 --> 01:24:37,533
Whoo!
[ Laughs ]

1760
01:24:37,533 --> 01:24:39,566
[ Laughter ]

1761
01:24:39,566 --> 01:24:41,500
The winner really is me.

1762
01:24:41,500 --> 01:24:45,200
-It's a beautiful thing to watch
Little Richard take up space.

1763
01:24:45,200 --> 01:24:48,233
-Richard?
[ Laughter ]

1764
01:24:48,233 --> 01:24:49,766
Richard.
-Shut up.

1765
01:24:49,766 --> 01:24:50,766
[ Laughter ]

1766
01:24:50,766 --> 01:24:52,900
And the winner is...

1767
01:24:52,900 --> 01:24:55,633
Jodi Watley!
[ Cheers and applause ]

1768
01:24:55,633 --> 01:24:58,700
-A moment for him where he can
honor the people

1769
01:24:58,700 --> 01:25:00,600
who were inspired by him

1770
01:25:00,600 --> 01:25:04,766
and, at the same time, remind
people who tend to forget,

1771
01:25:04,766 --> 01:25:06,733
"I helped create that."

1772
01:25:06,733 --> 01:25:08,833
-Ladies and gentlemen, stand up

1773
01:25:08,833 --> 01:25:13,066
and give it up for
the incredible Little Richard!

1774
01:25:13,066 --> 01:25:16,833
-After that, he started
getting the recognition

1775
01:25:16,833 --> 01:25:20,000
that had been missing.

1776
01:25:20,000 --> 01:25:23,833
♪♪

1777
01:25:23,833 --> 01:25:27,833
-Seeing that,
it's reminding me

1778
01:25:27,833 --> 01:25:31,333
I was 83 years old
when I won my first Grammy.

1779
01:25:31,333 --> 01:25:35,333
It wasn't because
I didn't have big records.

1780
01:25:35,333 --> 01:25:38,566
Because the odds
are stacked against me.

1781
01:25:38,566 --> 01:25:41,600
The odds was stacked
against Little Richard.

1782
01:25:41,600 --> 01:25:43,333
[ Cheers and applause ]

1783
01:25:43,333 --> 01:25:46,333
But he overcome all of that.

1784
01:25:46,333 --> 01:25:48,633
[ Cheers and applause ]

1785
01:25:48,633 --> 01:25:53,166
So I understood
what he was crying about.

1786
01:25:53,166 --> 01:25:55,800
I told him,
"It's better late than never."

1787
01:25:55,800 --> 01:25:58,366
-I want you to know tonight
that rhythm and blues

1788
01:25:58,366 --> 01:26:01,566
had a baby, and somebody
named it rock 'n' roll.

1789
01:26:01,566 --> 01:26:02,733
[ Cheers and applause ]

1790
01:26:02,733 --> 01:26:06,500
I think that was a win
for all the Black people

1791
01:26:06,500 --> 01:26:10,633
who were the originators
of rock 'n' roll.

1792
01:26:10,633 --> 01:26:13,500
But, Richard...

1793
01:26:13,500 --> 01:26:15,000
you the king.

1794
01:26:15,000 --> 01:26:19,533
♪♪

1795
01:26:22,166 --> 01:26:24,600
-The last time
I was at the hotel,

1796
01:26:24,600 --> 01:26:28,533
I spent three days there,
and...

1797
01:26:28,533 --> 01:26:30,400
I never saw him happier.

1798
01:26:30,400 --> 01:26:33,700
That's my last memory of him.

1799
01:26:33,700 --> 01:26:34,933
-In those days,

1800
01:26:34,933 --> 01:26:37,233
they'd bring him out
in a wheelchair,

1801
01:26:37,233 --> 01:26:40,466
but he still loved
to go out on the road.

1802
01:26:40,466 --> 01:26:44,233
He would always say,
"The beauty is on duty."

1803
01:26:44,233 --> 01:26:48,300
-Let me bring you
some breaking news.

1804
01:26:48,300 --> 01:26:52,700
The singer Little Richard
has died, aged 87.

1805
01:26:52,700 --> 01:26:56,266
♪♪

1806
01:26:56,266 --> 01:26:58,700
-Finally, tonight, we're
remembering a music legend.

1807
01:26:58,700 --> 01:27:03,266
Rock 'n' roll icon
Little Richard has died.

1808
01:27:03,266 --> 01:27:06,533
-While he swerved in and out
of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle,

1809
01:27:06,533 --> 01:27:10,800
Little Richard remained close to
his religious and gospel roots,

1810
01:27:10,800 --> 01:27:13,666
sometimes struggling
with his own sexuality.

1811
01:27:13,666 --> 01:27:17,700
♪♪

1812
01:27:17,700 --> 01:27:20,966
-For me, the main thing about
Little Richard's music

1813
01:27:20,966 --> 01:27:22,533
and contribution

1814
01:27:22,533 --> 01:27:25,500
is that, before "Tutti Frutti,"

1815
01:27:25,500 --> 01:27:28,000
music was always
above the waist.

1816
01:27:28,000 --> 01:27:30,200
[ Laughs ]

1817
01:27:30,200 --> 01:27:33,933
And Little Richard
took notice of the fact

1818
01:27:33,933 --> 01:27:39,266
that -- that the whole body
could be involved.

1819
01:27:39,266 --> 01:27:41,766
-He left a big footprint.

1820
01:27:41,766 --> 01:27:45,100
Crazy, wild clothes,
jumping up and down,

1821
01:27:45,100 --> 01:27:48,666
working the stage,
standing on the piano.

1822
01:27:48,666 --> 01:27:51,666
There was nobody doing that
before Richard.

1823
01:27:51,666 --> 01:27:54,900
-His life was a constant
reminder of what

1824
01:27:54,900 --> 01:27:56,833
queer Black people

1825
01:27:56,833 --> 01:28:01,800
have given
to mainstream popular music.

1826
01:28:01,800 --> 01:28:05,966
-Thinking about Little Richard
brings tears to my eyes.

1827
01:28:05,966 --> 01:28:08,100
I mean, he was one
of those artists

1828
01:28:08,100 --> 01:28:13,900
that carved out that path
for others to walk down.

1829
01:28:13,900 --> 01:28:16,366
-You know, I definitely think
he has a big influence on me

1830
01:28:16,366 --> 01:28:17,700
and everybody like me.

1831
01:28:17,700 --> 01:28:19,333
-♪ Whether you're high or low ♪

1832
01:28:19,333 --> 01:28:22,333
-Janelle Monae, Lizzo.

1833
01:28:22,333 --> 01:28:24,666
Everybody in today's culture...

1834
01:28:24,666 --> 01:28:26,300
-♪ I'm bad as Michael Jackson ♪

1835
01:28:26,300 --> 01:28:30,433
-...has a little of that swagger
of Little Richard,

1836
01:28:30,433 --> 01:28:32,133
and they may not even know it.

1837
01:28:32,133 --> 01:28:34,633
♪♪

1838
01:28:34,633 --> 01:28:37,633
-♪ Good golly, Miss Molly ♪

1839
01:28:37,633 --> 01:28:39,700
♪ Sure like to ball ♪

1840
01:28:39,700 --> 01:28:40,566
♪ Whooo ♪

1841
01:28:40,566 --> 01:28:43,500
♪ Good golly, Miss Molly ♪

1842
01:28:43,500 --> 01:28:46,133
♪ Sure like to ball ♪

1843
01:28:46,133 --> 01:28:48,966
♪ When you rockin' and rollin' ♪

1844
01:28:48,966 --> 01:28:50,833
♪ Can't hear your mama call ♪

1845
01:28:50,833 --> 01:28:53,400
♪♪

1846
01:28:54,733 --> 01:29:29,066
♪♪