Little Richard Research Paper

Little Richard, The Father of Rock and Roll.

Little Richard was considered to be one of the fathers of Rock and Roll. He was a radical movement in the entertainment industry in the 1950’s with his break through into both white and black cultures with Rock and Roll music. He influenced many artists, both white and black, from Elvis Presley to Creedence Clearwater Revival, as stated by Smokey Robinson "Little Richard is the beginning of rock 'n' roll." (DigitalDreamDoor, 2016). His music was so innovative in comparison to the music that had been sweeping through America in the previous two decades. This is what made Little Richard such an iconic figure in entertainment history.

The period from the 1930’s- 1950’s in America were times of great

Little Richard was so unexpected, he was a radical movement in the music industry at this point, and was bringing people something that they had never heard before. People did not know what to expect and they were definitely not expecting the searing vocals of Little Richard, the sexual suggestiveness that he expressed and the outlandish new musical revolution he was starting. In a time where there were only five ‘black’ radio stations in all of America, and where ‘negro’ and ‘white’ music was segregated, Little Richard started to incorporate multiple genres of music into one where it had influences from both races. Rock and Roll had essentially integrated the two races musically. This brand new genre that Little Richard had introduced to the world was the new form of rebellion and revolution within America in the 1950’s. White adolescents were loving this new form of music, they were accepting it and getting involved, they were beginning to idolise black singers and musicians. However, this was not enough to get Little Richard’s original music to get as much exposure with the wider society. The less accepting members of society towards Little Richard’s radical movement did not appreciate his growing success and believed that since the younger generations were loving his music, they would commercialise it to make it more acceptable. Pat Boone, a Hollywood star and successful

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