Life And Times Of Little Richard: The Authorized Biography

by Charles White

Overview

The classic authorized biography that told it all.

Foreword by Sir Paul McCartney

When Little Richard burst onto the scene in the early 1950s, he was utterly unique. Drenched in sweat, screaming, hollering, and pumping his piano, he made all who followed sound tame. His stage act was so explosive that for years people assumed the real man could never match the flamboyant public image.

Little Richard made himself a star through sheer talent and personality, breaking racial and sexual taboos on his way to becoming the primal force of Fifties rock & roll.

Using Richard’s own words, Charles White chronicles a staggering career that spanned the very inception of rock’n’roll, the rise of The Beatles, tussles with God and the Devil, and an erratic series of comebacks.

This edition includes a new cover as well as pictures from Little Richard’s own archive and a comprehensive discography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781915841216
Publisher:	Omnibus Press
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dublin-born Charles White, aka Dr. Rock, is an internationally acknowledged authority on rock’n’roll and the official biographer of both Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. He is widely known in the UK as a television and BBC radio presenter and has written articles for The Observer, Rolling Stone and the Independent. He lives in North Yorkshire. 

Table of Contents

	Foreword	vii
	Preface	viii
	Preface To The Third Edition	x
	The Quasar	xi
Part I	The Southland
	The Georgia Peach	3
	Get Rich Quick	20
	Thinkin' About My Mother	34
	Awop-Bop-A-Loo-Mop Alop-Bam-Boom	43
Part II	Tutti Frutti
	Tutti Frutti	55
	Don't Knock The Rock	80
	The Most I Can Offer	96
Part III	Second Coming
	I'm Back	111
	The King Of Rock'n'Roll	122
	It Ain't What You Do	145
	Slippin' And Slidin'	165
Part IV	Back in the Arms of the Lord
	Call My Name	183
	God's Beautiful City	192
	From Rock'n'Roll to the Rock of Ages	203
	Postscript--Lifetime Friend	215
	Testimonials	227
	The Little Richard Chronicles
	Recording Sessions	235
	Discography/Filmography	263
	Compact Discs	277
	What's Missing	280
	Acknowledgments	281
	Index	284

Editorial Reviews

One of David Bowie's Top 100 Favorite Books

"Riveting... the definitive biography." The New York Times

"The most jaw-droppingly outrageous of all rock memoirs." Nik Cohn, journalist and author

"The stunning saga of a rock legend" Philadelphia Inquirer

"A wild, libidinous agitation of a book... charged with the same delirious, fizzing energy as Little Richard himself. A sugar hiccup of a book that is not unaware of the racism and homophobia faced by its author but powers through both because of the strength of Little Richard’s character." The Herald

"A hilariously frank raconteur. This is a rock biography you really must consume." The Big Issue

"There's simply no better biography of the man than Charles White's authorized Life and Times. Positively packed with engaging, compelling and occasionally startling revelations. An essential classic of the rock biographer's art. 9/10" Classic Rock

"Action-packed in every sense of the word" Eternal Terror

From the Publisher