By then Little Richard was known as Reverend Richard Pennman, having already denounced rock and roll a few decades earlier, he told his congregation 'If God can save an old homosexual like me, he can save anybody.'
Little Richard is one of the pioneers of rock and roll music back in the 50’s. He was a huge influence to a lot of rock musicians and especially to the Beatles who covered him a handful of times throughout their career. Little Richard is famous for making the rock and roll standards Tutti Frutti, Good Golly Miss Molly, and Long Tall Sally.
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His dynamic music and charismatic showmanship laid the foundation for rock and roll. His music also played a key role in the formation of other popular music genres, including soul and funk. Little Richard influenced numerous singers and musicians across musical genres from rock to hip-hop; his music helped shape rhythm and blues for generations to come, that’s how influential he is in the field of rock and roll music. But on October 12, 1957, Little Richard made a momentous announcement.
While on tour in Sydney Australia at the height of rock and roll music, he announced to a crowd of rock and rollers that he was renouncing rock ‘n’ roll and embracing God.
Richard is said to have told the crowd: “If you want to live with the Lord, you can’t rock ‘n’ roll too. God doesn’t like it.“ He revealed that he had dreamed about his own damnation, after praying to God when one of the engines on a plane in which he was flying caught fire. The wild rock ‘n’ roller threw four diamond rings (valued at $8000) into Sydney’s Hunter River.
When he came back to America the next day, his label kept quiet of the announcement and later released Little Richard’s last recorded rock and roll songs. While Richards’ rock and roll tunes climbed up the charts for the last remaining years, he was entering theological college. In 1958, his rock ‘n’ roll profile was, if anything, higher than ever, even though Richards was on the path to God.
During the 60s, he started making gospel music, and although having already been crowned as reverend, he would sometimes get tempted and play some old school rock and roll from time to time. On July 19, 1979, while ministering in his congregation, he reminded the people that rock and roll is still evil. And by seeking God, Rev Richard was forgiven, and was also apparently told he can still play rock and roll music as long as he knows it's evil?
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