Talk:Little Richard

Personal life?

This article makes no mention of his personal life, other than his childhood. I'm sure some people reading it, such as myself, would also be interested if he's ever been married, had kids... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.189.90.68 (talk) 00:46, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

He married once; the marriage lasted two years in the late 1950s/early 1960s. He never had children. In the article it discusses his homosexuality, which he personally disavowed in lieu of Christianity in the 1980s. Mike H. Fierce! 00:40, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

His memoirs include a great anecdote about his double teaming a groupie with Buddy Holly in Buddy's dressing room just before a show. So at the very least he appears to have enjoyed women despite being widely hailed and clearly accurately as a "Queen's Queen". Little Richard is God! 216.105.89.49 (talk) 21:15, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

John Lennon

Little Richard is a well known icon —Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.40.2.174 (talk) 22:01, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

I'm surprised that Little Richard's influence on John Lennon is not mentioned in the article. Didn't John call Little Richard "The King of rock and roll"?70.29.76.82 (talk) 09:00, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

Do you have a reference? Also,it is worth noting that numerous other twentieth century musical icons have referred to him as their primary influence. Jagger reffered to LR as "the originator" and his "first idol". The ones mentioned in the lead and expanded on in the influence section are the ones which were somewhat settled on. Many other quotes were inserted by myself but were edited out because I unknowingly formed a quotefarm, which we are to avoid because it is against Wiki policy and unencyclopedic. Hendrix is also mentioned in the main body of the article, although the Hendrix quote could always be re-inserted into the influence section. It was deleted from the influence section because it had already neem mentioned in the 60s section. It should only be in one or the other. Someone inserted Milsap recently, but I tagged it because there was no citation.--Smoovedogg (talk) 17:10, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

ex gay?

Little Richard is not ex gay since this is a modern day term and he may be Christian but he is not against LGBT people like the ex gay people are. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.185.189.36 (talk) 16:29, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

1957 evangelism and Joe Lutcher

I've started an article on Joe Lutcher, who reportedly influenced Little Richard's evangelistic activities around 1957, and toured with him. If any editor with access to offline sources can add any details to that article, I'd be grateful. Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:35, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Names used in the article

I think most of us know that Little Richard and Richard Wayne Penniman are one and the same person. But in the article, I see an inconsistent way of mentioning him by name. I'm sure it's complicated by his widely known stage name.

There are at least four names used: Little Richard, Penniman, Richard, and "Little Richard" Penniman.

My own feeling is that, unless it's included as a direct quotation or title of something, there should be one common name used, and that it should be Penniman - which is currently the most common name used in the article.

But before making changes.... Comments, anybody? thyrd (talk) 19:25, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

I am inclined to agree about the consistency and "Richard Wayne Penniman" the first time and then "Penniman" thereafter is probably the only way to do this, since he used the name for his ministry period. Obviously Little Richard will appear in quotations and titles.--SabreBD (talk) 19:44, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

How about "Little Richie"? I hear that being used to refer to him. In fact, a google search of "Little Richie" will direct toward Little Richard results. Zealot guy (talk) 16:01, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

Early life and early career: 1932-1951 - date of father's death.

I'm adding this note about my edit of 2011-02-27 which effectively reverts BrothaTimothy's edit of 2010-11-28. The date of death of Little Richard's father, Charlie Penniman, was and still is supported by only one source: the Social Security Death Index. The SSDI source is easily verified from different web sites such as ancestry.com etc, and consistently shows his date of death as "February 1952". If anybody has better information than that which comes from a verifiable source, that would be great. But please provide a verifiable source for that change to replace the SSDI reference. In all cases, verified information should only be replaced by verified information. Otherwise, any change is likely to be reverted again. Thanks.Thyrd (talk) 17:03, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

• I'm appending this note on 2011-04-18 to encourage editors who change the date to also edit the source for their edits. The only source I've found for the date is the SSDI, and the SSDI is no more accurate than "February 1952". I believe that as long as it remains the cited source of the date, the date should be exactly that, so I have edited it today. Any other date will make the article less accurate unless it is supported by the cited source.
  If you don't have a verifiable source, then please let's discuss it here before going ahead with the edit.
  Thanks! Thyrd (talk) 15:46, 18 April 2011 (UTC)

Thanks to BrothaTimothy, who's updated and improved the article with a more accurate source. I've removed the SSDI source (which I suspect was based upon the date of notification rather than the date of death anyway). Thyrd (talk) 15:43, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Little Richard's conversion experience

In a book on the history of rock and roll it said that Little Richard had a dream of the Apocalypse that shook him up, afterward he quit rock and roll for seven years.

It says, "A horrifying dream showed him the Apocalypse and the ugly stain of his own damnation. On an airline flight soon after (which may or may not have been threatened by a fire on board), Richard prayed to God to hold that plane in the air. Evidently, the Lord in His infinite wisdom obliged.When Richard reached safety he threw his jewelry into the harbor at Sydney, Australia and vowed to cease his evil ways." Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. p.57 Natural (talk) 03:11, 12 April 2011 (UTC)Natural

Homosexuality

Also, a quote in the same account states, "I gave up rock & roll for the Rock of Ages. If God can save me, an old homosexual, he can save anybody," he exhorted the crowd." Don't know if the article mentions that, but it is of note from several viewpoints, his homosexuality along with conversion. Perhaps a relevant point to include in the article. Rolling Stone, p 59Natural (talk) 03:16, 12 April 2011 (UTC)Natural