The King of Rock and Roll didn't die at Graceland in 1977. He died three years ago in Tullahoma, Tennessee, and never got the crown he deserved.
Such is the compelling case for Lisa Corti's documentary Little Richard: Everything, a biography of an unlikely hero who emerged in the age of Eisenhower impersonators.
Curtis says Little Richard has created the blueprint for a rock icon and has the billing, citing her musical and stylistic influences from the Beatles to David Bowie, Elton John and Lizzo. If there was a king, it was him.
"Sorry it wasn't Elvis," said co-worker Billy Porter.
As befits rock royalty, Little Richard was a personal mess. oscillates between a singer in a big orgy and a shirtless Christian establishment; He said rock is "the devil's music". This movie is full of contradictions.
We were one of 12 children from the impoverished home of Richard Penniman in Macon, Georgia, reaped the benefits of his stepfather's dissimilarity, and later raised by his son as an underdog. Famous rock engineer.
But Curtis' film is also the story of American rock, how transistor radios made 1950s teens revolt against their parents' annoying music, and how white bands co-opted black music. Perhaps little Richard suffered the most – he hummed deeply, receiving piano, jazz and vision.
"The system didn't like it," he said in an old interview. "I didn't have to be their children's hero. Instead, it was covered—and scrapped—by Pat Boone and Elvis."
The film includes new tributes from other scientists and artists, including Mick Jagger, Nona Hendricks, Nile Rodgers, Tom Jones and director John Waters, who said the skinny beard is a "quirky tribute" to little Richard.
Curtis explores the example of Little Richard as an incoming metro comet, a quasar, a big bang, and its DNA is all over the place. It celebrates the strangeness that one of rock's greatest pioneers in the pre-civil rights era was a black gay man.
His ascension was a rare event in America where a man could satisfy the common people by exaggerating his homosexuality. But underneath the pompadour and pancake makeup, it was on point. Little Richard made music that broke down classroom walls and celebrated sexuality.
Take the debut of "Tutti Frutti" with its unforgettable "wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom" call. The anal sex party begins. (The original lyrics were "Tutti Frutti / Good bootie" and "If it's tight / It's good.") True: One of rock's greatest songs began as a record.
A series of great rock hits followed: "Lucille", "Kip A Knockin'", "Long Tall Sally" and "Good Jolly Miss Molly". It seems tragic that young Richard later became uncomfortable with his homosexuality.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the movie is how little Richard builds his character. We knew he was a part of the drag act from a young age and was influenced by Billy Wright's pompadour, pencil mustache and heavy makeup, as well as Escherita's piano playing.
In this fusion, Ike Turner added the piano styles and vocal qualities of gospel artists such as Marion Williams, Brother Joe May, and Clara Ward. He's got all that profit, but the filmmakers don't make it clear how his temporary job differs from when white jobs were stolen from him.
In addition to all that star power, the film suffers somewhat from the filmmakers' use of a recent spectacle of young performers set up in empty clubs in honor of little Richard, and the copious use of film dust. An atmosphere of seemingly superfluous magical realism.
In the final third of the film, Little Richard until his death in 2020 will seek the honors he was given. While he, Chuck Berry, and Fats Domino are credited with introducing what was once called "race music" to the mainstream, Little Richard is still with him. Us: From Prince to Harry Styles to Lil Nas X, it's hard not to see them everywhere.
Let him get the last word. In the film's final sequence, Little Richard says he hopes what he's done in his career will spread: "Just spread the good word to the world.
Magnolia Pictures released "Little Richard: I'm Everything". Duration: 98 minutes. Three out of four stars. ___ Online: https://www.littlericharddocumented.com
___ Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits.