Little Richard: I Am Everything

When Little Richard passed on in 2020 most of the news stories followed the familiar tale of the man as one of the founders of rock in the 50s who found religion, dropped out and then came back to the "devil's music". This film does a good job fleshing out Richard's story and delve deep into his background and the full arc of his life and career.

The CNN film paints a pretty detailed picture of Richards' complicated life. The doc highlights the central tension of his sexuality and 'evils' of rock n roll versus his religious upbringing. He had at least two major breaks from pop music which damaged his career commercially (he never again had a Top 40 single after first leaving rock in the late 50s). Richards' homosexuality was never truly hidden, but he himself was a contradiction by marrying a woman and renouncing his own lifestyle at times. It haunted him until the very end.

Despite his up and down career as a musician, his influence was phenomenal and both docs have testimonials from everyone like Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger to David Bowie. John Waters states that his pencil mustache is his decades long tribute to Richards' trademark 'stache. One of the "villains" of the piece is Pat Boone, who did toned down covers of Richards' songs to greater commercial success with white audiences.

Little Richard was a much bigger icon than I ever knew.

Although I am a grown man, I became interested in pop music and popular culture many years after Little Richard had his "heyday". I also got bits and pieces of him, and sometimes he appears on TV and the like. No more.

This documentary highlights his central role in popular culture. In fact, without Little Richard, pop music might not have become what we know it as today.

The documentary shows him as a trailblazer and as an enormous inspiration for all who followed him. Unfortunately, he has little respect and recognition for his enormous efforts.

The documentary also gives us insight into his private life; both religion (which was central), sexual orientation and how friends perceived him.

Last but not least; lots of wonderful music here, and many clips of performances he did. Little Richard gave it his all when he was on stage, and the audience loved him. At a time when pop stars "come and go", it is liberating to get to know who paved the way for many of them.

Thank you for recognizing one of the greatest musicians of all times. I believe that you did a wonderful job of chronicling the life of Richard Pinneman, however, one mistake was made that needs to be corrected and the public needs to know the truth. Near the beginning of the movie you showed a young boy playing a piano as little Richard. This is not true. This young man was and is Frank Isaac "Sugar Chile" Robinson, born 12/28/1938, and is still alive. That picture was taken from a 1946 movie that he was in with Van Johnson called "No Leave, No Love". He also recorded several albums between 1949 and 1952. Everyone always thinks that he is Little Richard. I would love to see this BLACK child prodigy get his proper respect.

As "Little Richard: I Am Everything" (2023 release; 101 min.) opens, we heard from various talking heads. One of them sums it up like this: "He spit on every rule there ever was in music". "He" of course being Little Richard. We then go back in time to the early 1930s in Macon, Georgia. It might as well be the 1830s, that is how remote Macon was from everything. In that backwards, if not openly racist, midst, Little Richard was finding his way... At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from Black director Lisa Cortes ("All In: The Fight For Democracy"). Here she reassesses the life and times of a rock icon who never truly received what he deserved, either critically or commercially. But that didn't stop him from pushing on. This is a rousing documentary from start to finish. Little Richard knew all too well what was going on. Or as he puts it towards the end of this enjoyable documentary: "We built the highway and they they still driving it and not paying toll".

"Little Richard: I Am Everything" was released earlier this year, to immediate acclaim. It is now playing on HBO and streaming on Max, where I saw it the other night. There is good reason why this movie is currently rated 98% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and I fully expect it will get a Best Documentary Oscar nomination in early 2024. If you have any interest in Little Richard or the history of rock and roll, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Sometimes it takes a movie to help set the record straight. And, when it comes to designating who truly is the king of rock 'roll, this documentary from director Lisa Cortes does just that. Richard Wayne Penniman - professionally known as Little Richard (1932-2020) - burst onto the pop music scene in the mid-1950s with a singular, unrestrained, high-energy style that set him apart from other aspiring performers at the time, achieving tremendous success with hits like "Tutti Fruitti" and "Long Tall Sally," among others. However, even though he developed a strong following and a reputation for chart-busting releases, he never quite attained the widespread notoriety of others, like Elvis Presley and Pat Boone, particularly when they covered his hits. He also didn't achieve the financial success that he deserved, thanks to record labels that gave him raw deals. What's more, as a flamboyant, openly gay Black musician at a time when those qualities were far from well tolerated, he became a target for ostracism and scorn from conservative circles, whose leaders spouted inflammatory claims that he was undermining the moral fabric of traditional American culture with his "decadent" music and "perverted" lifestyle. Yet his blend of colorful performances, mixed with outlandish costumes, pancake makeup and frenetic stage antics and backed by tunes that fused boogie woogie, rhythm & blues and gospel, made him a standout, a style that countless artists drew from - and openly acknowledged his influence - when they emerged in their own right, many of whom are interviewed in the film in archive footage or recent conversations. The result here is a revelatory examination of someone who set a standard but who never received the degree of recognition he merited until many years after his debut on the music scene. "Little Richard: I Am Everything" features a wealth of historical footage, including many interviews with the artist himself, along with observations from the likes of Mick Jagger, Billy Porter, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Nona Hendryx and superfan filmmaker John Watters, as well as an array of music industry, African-American and gay community historians. Viewers are likely to come away from this offering knowing a lot about Little Richard that they hadn't known previously, enabling them to gain a new appreciation for the rock icon and learning much about the many triumphs and challenges he faced during his colorfully enigmatic life. Audiences are sure to come away from this one proclaiming "Long live rock - and the king who finally gets to wear his much-deserved crown."