"The Winner Is....ME!"

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If Chuck Berry was the father of rock and roll, Little Richard was the queen mother. No, that's not meant as an insult. Quite the opposite! Richard Wayne Penniman, who passed away today (5/9) of bone cancer at the age of 87, was without question the first flamboyant performer in music. He was wild and crazy, and he flaunted it. Without Little Richard's unabashed showmanship we would probably never had the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, David Bowie, Elton John, Prince, Freddie Mercury, or most of the glam rockers. He showed, from the advent of rock and roll (actually, before it, as he was performing in the early 50s), that the bigger the show the better. One of the funniest things I remember about Little Richard was the night he and David Johansen, as Buster Poindexter, presented the "Best New Artist" Grammy. When it came time to announce the award's recipient, Little Richard said, "And the best new artist is.....ME." After a standing ovation, he went to open the envelope and said, "And the winner is...still me!" Jody Watley actually won the award, but that was anticlimactic after Little Richard's fabulous stunt. He did get a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, in 1993. He was also part of the inaugural induction class into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. As he said in that hilarious moment on the Grammys, "I am the architect of rock and roll!" One last WOOOOOOOO!!!!! for the great Little Richard. This might make you laugh until you cry: