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Articles on Little Richard

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Little Richard’s rock ‘n’ roll brought the margins to the center. Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

The 1950s queer black performers who inspired Little Richard

Little Richard honed his craft as a teenage drag queen. In everything from his hairstyle to his lyrics, we see the influence of gay contemporaries like Esquerita and Billy Wright.
During their 1962 residency at Hamburg’s Star-Club, the Beatles had the opportunity of a lifetime: opening for Little Richard. Horst Fascher/K & K Ulf Kruger OHG/Redferns via Getty Images

How Little Richard helped launch the Beatles

When a 14-year-old Paul McCartney watched Little Richard in the hit film ‘The Girl Can’t Help It,’ he couldn’t have imagined that the two would one day take the stage together.

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