Still A Scream

Sunday, June 11, 2000 | 9:40 a.m.

Little Richard's life is one long concert tour, with occasional breaks to replenish his boundless energy so that he can hit the road again and do what he was born to do -- entertain the world with rock 'n' roll.

The flamboyant musician calls himself "The Originator, the Emancipator and the Architect of Rock 'n' Roll."

"Little" Richard Wayne Penniman, who was heavily influenced in his youth by gospel and blues music, began his recording career in 1951 at age 16. In 1955 his breakout hit "Tutti Frutti" changed his life and the music world forever. It was quickly followed by a long string of other hits, such as "Lucille," "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Rip It Up," "Ready Teddy," "Long Tall Sally" and many others.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Little Richard and Chuck Berry, another rock legend, will co-star in concert at the Caesars Palace Circus Maximus showroom Tuesday through Thursday, Saturday and June 18.

Las Vegas Sun: What is a tutti-frutti?

Little Richard: (chuckle) I don't know. I think it was (a mixture of fruits) when I was a kid. "Tutti-frutti, oh roody, awop-bop-a-loo-bop-alop- bam-boom." That had a good rhythm, a good feel to it.

Sun: Of your hundreds of recordings, which is your favorite?

LR: "Lucille." I love the rhythm of "Lucille."

Sun: Do you do some of the old favorites in your concerts?

LR: I do all of them. I don't do like some artists do, a little medley of things. I don't like that. I do the whole song. When you come to my show you hear all of them and the show is electrifying. We were in Vegas a little while back and it was packed every night.

Sun: Why do you call yourself "The Originator, the Emancipator and the Architect of Rock 'n' Roll?"

LR: Before I started there wasn't any. You could "swing and sway" with Sammy Kaye. They were singing "Pennies from Heaven," but they wasn't falling in my neighborhood. There was Elmo James and Sonny Boy Williams and Chuck Berry, who was playing blues. Everybody was doing blues so I came out with that wild thing in piano. You know, rock 'n' roll.

Sun: Who inspired you to sing?

LR: Mahalia Jackson, I used to imitate her. Ruth Brown, I think she lives in Vegas now. Roy Brown, the Clara Ward Singers. People like that.

Sun: What inspired you to do rock 'n' roll?

LR: Being young, you get tired of the slow-type music. You want something with energy in it.

Sun: Do you feel underappreciated?

LR: I feel good being the architect. It's a great feeling that I'm still alive 'cause most of the (older) people are gone. Some wonderful people have passed on, great people. I'm still alive and I thank God for his mercy.

Sun: To what do you owe your longevity?

LR: I owe it all to God. Without him I wouldn't be nobody.

Sun: How did you avoid getting caught up in the drug scene?

LR: I took drugs years ago. I used to snort cocaine, 35 or 40 years ago. I would drink and smoke weed but all that's past. I don't drink or nothing now. I don't even drink Coca-Cola, you know. And I owe it all to God. God has been so great. He has been great in my life. I'm not a preacher (as has been reported), I'm just a rock 'n' roll singer, but I still love God.

Sun: What would you have done if not rock 'n' roll?

LR: I would have been a gospel singer.

Sun: Ever think about quitting the business?

LR: Sometimes I think about retiring because you get tired. But God has been good, and I know if he watched over me once he'll watch over me again. I thank the Lord, thank the Lord for my good health.

Sun: How much time do you spend on the road?

LR: I tour year-round. I think that's what keeps me young. Walking from one gate to another in them long airports, them gates are so far apart that's a workout in itself.

Sun: You've known most of the top rock stars. What are your thoughts on some of them?

LR: Elvis was one of the most electrifying entertainers that ever lived, a fantastic entertainer, black or white. He was a great, great entertainer and a beautiful person. I used to call the Beatles "the four Everly Brothers" because their harmony was like that. I think they were fantastic. They wrote beautiful songs and were great guys.

Keith (Richards) is one of the best guitar players in the business and a great person. He's fantastic. I like Keith's singing as much as I do Mick Jagger's. And I love Elton John. He is one of my best friends, he and David Bowie.

Jerry Lee Lewis, I think he's great. Jerry Lee and I will be in London together very soon. We'll be playing three nights in different cities. He's not doing the whole tour with us. We're doing about 20 days and he's doing three of them. I wish he was doing all of them.

Sun: What do you think about rap music?

LR: Some of it I like. I like L.L. Cool J, M.C. Hammer. I like some of the things I hear today, some of the things by Will Smith. I like the message. I love a group called Midnight and Daybreak, they do message rap with positive lyrics.

Sun: There was a movie on television recently about your life.

LR: I had nothing to do with that. They did an unauthorized version. It wasn't done like we would have done it. We would have shown how the Beatles came from us and how James Brown started with us; he was my vocalist. They didn't show no history. They played up on sex and all that mess, you know. It was horrible.

Sun: The script suggested you were bisexual.

LR: What it did, it just brought the devil to life. We disagreed with it, disagreed with it totally. So, what I need to do now, I have another person (reporter) in Kansas City (waiting for an interview) but let everybody (in Las Vegas) know I will be there and I love you and I love you for talking to me, OK? God bless you.

Jerry Fink

is an Accent feature writer. Reach him at jerry@lasvegassun.com or at 259-4058.

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