Of Afro-Colombian heritage on her father’s side, Lisa Cortes with her production company Cortes Films, has produced a number of moving documentaries, none more so than LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING. In this film, Cortes has opened every door to the complexity and internal struggles of Little Richard’s life, revealing the deep struggles that arose from his need to be accepted as black, flamboyant and queer, to his deep-rooted religious faith and upbringing.
Little Richard’s songs ranged from the sexually suggestive ‘devil’s music’ of rock n’ roll, to religious gospel. Torn apart by his natural talent and need for performing, that was pitted against his desire not to offend God, Little Richard still managed to create his own unique form of music that has left a massive legacy that influenced everything that came after him.
“Wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom
Tutti frutti, oh rootie”
As filmmaker John Waters says:
“The first songs that you love and your parents hate, is the beginning of the soundtrack of your life and in my case, it was most definitely Lucille. Little Richard gave me the fuel to rebel really, really early.”
“…
Well, I saw Uncle John with bald-head Sally He saw Aunt Mary comin' and he ducked back in the alley, oh, baby Yes, baby, woo, baby Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah, ow
Well, long, tall Sally She's built for speed, she got Everything that Uncle John need, oh, baby Yes, baby, woo, baby Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah”
(Long Tall Sally)
Richard was a pioneer. He claimed, rightly: “My music broke down the walls of segregation.” He was born with some deformities, (he had one leg and one arm longer than the other), despite that, he decided he was not going to care what others thought and saw through the bullying, because he knew, in his gut, that he had a transformative effect on people.
“The concept of the teenager did not exist as we know it now (in the 1950s)”. Post- WW2, the idea of teenage angst was new. That desire to be free, experiment, and be different, only needed a spark.
Little Richard was an emancipator, not only by being openly gay but also by being black and gay. His effect on the gay community cannot be measured, it was massive. He made it ok for so many people to have the courage to be themselves, to dare. He created his own appearance, almost lock stock and barrel from a performer he worked with briefly, Billy Wright. He copied the pompadour bouffon, the colourful clothes, even the thin moustache that became such a distinctive touch. Many, including John Waters, copied it as a tribute. But he made the look entirely his own. Numerous other artists have also made similar tributes, not least David Bowie, even Elton John with their flamboyant clothes and stage presence.
His father, Charles ‘Bud’ Penniman, was a very handsome and colourful character. He was a pastor. He owned a night club called Tip In Inn and sold bootlegged moonshine on the side. Aged only 15, Richard was rejected by his father for being gay, and kicked out of his home. Sometime later, when Richard made his first record, his father was so impressed, he played it round the clock at the nightclub and allowed the lad back home. Sadly, one of his best friends shot the pastor dead, which affected Little Richard profoundly, as did later, the unexpected death of his brother Tony.
These incidents and many others including an experience he had in Australia, that he read as a sign from God, took him back to his religious roots and for many periods of his life, he tried to be the preacher he had dreamed of being as a child, but the urge to make music was too strong and inevitably he found himself back on stage.
Cortes’ film brings across the extraordinary primal energy that was Little Richard. Born Richard Wayne Penniman on December 5th 1932, in a sleepy town called Macon in Georgia, Little Richard died on May 9th 2020, just as the pandemic hit, in Tullahoma, Tennessee aged 87. He performed in one way or another from 1947 till he died in 2020, almost seven decades!
Richard learnt his piano style from watching Ike Turner. It is a percussive way of playing. The drummer has to keep up with the right hand, while the left hand hammers out the boogie woogie. He once told his drummer to listen to the sound of the train engine wheels turning as it left the station: “that’s the kind of rhythm” that he wanted him to play behind him” No one played like that.
Richard was truly the king of Rock n’ Roll- Everyone copied him, including the anaemic efforts of Pat Boone, but no one was ever able to match him. Elvis would never have existed without Little Richard. This film exploits and enjoys the music, so it is a treat for all us fans.
45 single
It is both delightful and sad as we begin to understand what was behind the primal volcanic energy that drove Little Richard. It was thanks to Sister Rosetta Tharpe inviting him to join her on stage as a teenager, that his love for performing really took hold and led him to choose his career.
There is a lot of suppressed anger there, largely because he could see that black creators were not valued or respected, but Little Richard did not have an ounce of malice. That rage was transformed into pure energy that came out in his music, in his generosity to everyone. He paid people’s rents, he paid for people to go to college and he always wanted to help his mother and family. A lovable character, a meteor.
An array of current giants of music owe him an enormous debt, from Elton John, The Beatles (whom he took to Hamburg to perform with him), David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix (who was a guitarist in his band), to Sir Tom Jones. It galled him that Pat Boone sold more copies of Tutti Frutti than Little Richard himself. It may have been because he was a ‘safe and white’ while Richard was seen as dangerous, threatening the status quo of the existing social system. Here was a man who talked about sex, and sang highly suggestive songs:
“Good Golly Miss Molly you sure like to ball…” few did not pick up the connotations.
His string of hits is amazing. His first big hit was Tuttu Frutti, although he was obliged to change the explicitly sexual lyrics for a gentler version written by Dorothy Labostrie. It was followed by Long Tall Sally, Good Golly Miss Molly, Jenny Jenny, Ready Teddy, Slippin’ and Slidin’ and Lucille to name a few.
This music was challenging stuff. Rock n’ Roll was blamed for delinquency by terrified white racists who saw their own children flocking to hear this dangerous black music. Girls threw their panties at the stage and sent him naked pictures of themselves with telephone numbers. The phenomena of teen angst and screaming girls did not start with the Beatles! White teenagers would turn up on black nights at the music halls to listen to him. Strictly this was illegal, as segregation was still in force being before the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s.
Little Richard was one of the first real crossover artists, like Fats Domino (considered safer) and Chuck Berry. Richard would go through periods of worrying he would go to hell for being gay and playing the devil’s music: “God made Adam and Eve not Steve”. As one of the interviewees pointed out: “He was brilliant at liberating other people but he was not good at liberating himself”
This film reveals the fascinating and moving story of the life of an extraordinary bigger-than-life person. With superb archival material, film clips and photos, this is a film not to be missed. It is almost exhausting to watch that unlimited energy and ‘beam of light’ that shone on everything around him and still shines today infecting us with its energy.
Cortes has captured the sheer joy that emanates from this star.
“Everyone is defined by Little Richard”.
LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING (2023) will be on general release from April 28th-2023
Director/Producer: Lisa Cortes / Producers: Lisa Cortes/ Robert Friedman, Liz Yale Marsh, Caryn Capotosto, Mike Powers. Anita May Rosenstein/ Dee Rees / Editors: Nyneve Minnear/ Jake Hostetter / Music Supervisor: Jonathan Finegold / Original score: Tamar-Kali Brown/ DOPL Keith Walters and Graham Willoughby /Archive Producers: Jackie Clary, Marah Olsen, Bethany Schattner, Catherine Rierson / Archive Researchrers: Gideon Kennedy, and Rich Remsberg.
101 min
Cortes Films/ Sales Magnolia Pictures International
Distributed in the UK by Dogwood Films
