Publisher: Diversion Books

The first major biography of Little Richard, a rollicking, nuanced celebration of the late singer/songwriter’s life and his role in the history of American music―gospel, soul, rock, and more

“Tutti Frutti” • “Rip It Up” • “Good Golly Miss Molly” • “Lucille” • “Long Tall Sally” • “You Keep A-Knockin’”

Little Richard blazed the trail for generations of musicians―The Beatles, James Brown, the Everly Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Prince . . . the list seems endless. He was “The Originator,” “The Innovator,” and the self-anointed “King and Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll.” When he died on May 9, 2020, The Big Life of Little Richard―a nearly-completed book―was immediately updated to cover the international response to his death. It is the first major biography of Macon, Georgia’s Richard Wayne Penniman, who was, until his passing, the last rock god standing.