Little Richard, the singer and pianist who became a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer with his high-energy musicianship and boundary-pushing personality, died Saturday at age 87.
The artist’s son, Danny Penniman, confirmed the death to Rolling Stone. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia, he got his start performing as a teenager in local talent competitions before landing his first record contract with RCA in 1951 at age 19.
His first big hit, 1955’s “Tutti Frutti,” was one of the first songs by a black artist to cross over to the pop charts — and help set the stage for a career that would influence a wide range of genres from rock to soul to funk.