Little Richard
The rock and roll legend who helped create and popularize the genre and influenced countless others from John Lennon to Mick Jagger died of bone cancer at age 87.
<[>The man born Richard Penniman passed away on May 9, his son, Danny Penniman, confirmed to the media.
Little Richard was born in Macon, Ga. in 1932. He was the son of a brick mason who came from a family of preachers. His evangelical upbringing was to heavily influence both his music and his life.
By the time he burst onto the scene with his first hit," Tutti Frutti," in 1956, he already had a track record of shocking people with his performances. He had been singing in drag on stage since the 1940s.
There were definitely others had become rock stars before him, such as Elvis Presley and Fats Domino. But his influence on rock music continues to this day because the way he was creating music and performing it was unparalleled. It still is.
His use of flamboyant, colourful costumes and makeup immediately set him apart from other rock and rollers. The way he played his piano was also markedly different from anyone else at the time.
In 2010, when the National Recording Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress included "Tutti Frutti," it said the song's "unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music." Who can forget its incredible exclamation, "Awopbopaloobopalopbamboom!"? It's never been matched.
"I didn't ever want to be anything else," he told Rolling Stone in 1973. "Jerry Lee [Lewis] is a very intricate piano player and very skillful, but Little Richard is more of a pounder."
He mixed gospel with rock in a way that thrilled teens and people coming of age in the mid-'50s. The star also didn't hide his sexual orientation, and openly admitted his attraction to other men – he called himself "omnisexual." He also advocated the equality of all people – when he played to segregated audiences in the American south, his shows would often end with black and white people all dancing together.
His attitude and vocal frills were often adopted and imitated by others such as The Beatles, Elton John, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Prince... the list really is endless. If you pick anyone in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Little Richard has influenced them in some way.
He followed "Tutti Frutti" with "Long Tall Sally" and "Rip It Up" the same year. The Beatles went on to cover the former track. "Lucille" and "Good Golly Miss Molly" were then both released and became hits in 1957 and 1958, respectively.
Little Richard's career seemed to come to a close just as soon as it started. Just two years after "Tutti Frutti" was released, he left music and became a preacher and tried to
have a career recording gospel music.
But in 1962, he began performing rock and roll again, just before The Beatles began to take off up the charts with their mix of skiffle and rock music heavily influenced by his songs. John, Paul, George and Ringo actually opened for him when they were gigging in Hamburg, back when The Beatles were struggling for their big break.
"I could do Little Richard's voice, which is a wild, hoarse, screaming thing," Paul McCartney told author Barry Miles in his Many Years from Now biography. "It's like an out-of-body experience. You have to leave your current sensibilities and go about a foot above your head to sing it. You have to actually go outside yourself."
Little Richard continued taking breaks from performing and did so again in the late '70s after having battled alcohol and drug addiction. He returned to performing in the 1980s and continued thrilling audiences on and off until 2012. In his later years, he dealt with a stroke, heart attack and had a hip replacement.
Prior to that, though, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and won a Lifetime Achievement Award GRAMMY in 1993. He even appeared on Sesame Street. The Hall of Fame rightly calls him one of the architects of rock and roll. Any rock song you hear today has been influenced by him. May he rest in peace.
Photo: © Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
![<h2>Dame Diana Rigg</h2>
<p>The star was known to younger audiences for her later work on <i><a href=/tags/0/game-of-thrones><strong>Game of Thrones</a></strong></i>. She began her career carving out space with her iconic role as James Bond's wife in <i>On Her Majesty's Secret Service</i> and <i>The Avengers</i> TV series. She passed away this week after a battle with cancer that began in March, her daughter said.
<p>
Photo: &co"She spent her last months joyfully reflecting on her extraordinary life, full of love, laughter and a deep pride in her profession," Rachael Sterling, who is also an actress, said in a statement. "I miss her beyond words."
<p>"Dame Diana was an icon of the theatre, film and television," her agent <strong>Simon Beresford</strong> said. "[She] was a much loved and admired member of her profession, a force of nature who loved her work and her fellow actors. She will be greatly missed."
<p>Hollywood's finest, including Diana's James Bond actor <strong>George Lazenby</strong>, paid tribute to the star as she passed. George said he was "so sad" to hear about her death.
<p>"It was my great joy and privilege to have known Diana Ring," Mark Gatiss, a screenwriter and actor on <I>Sherlock</I>, said in a statement. "From three slightly hysterical months a the Old Vic in 'All About Mother' to writing 'The Crimson Horror' for Diana and her wonderful daughter Rachael. Flinty, fearless, fabulous. There will never be another."
<p><strong>Vanessa Redgrave</strong> called her "wonderful" and <I>Baby Driver</I> director <strong>Edgar Wright</strong> said he was honoured to have worked with her on <I>Last Night in Solo</I>. The film will be released on April 21 and will be her final on-screen appearance.
<p>Born in Yorkshire, England to a railway engineer and stay-at-home mom, Diana figured out quickly that she wanted to be a star. Her career turned her into an icon and saw her receive a number of awards in her lifetime, including a BAFTA, Emmy, Tony and Evening Standard Award for her work. The Queen later made her a dame commander of the British Empire, and she continued to work into her later years.
<p>Photo: © Getty Images](/images/stories/0/2020/09/10/000/792/086/gallery_5_3.jpg)
![<h2>Regis Philbin</h2>
<p>The star called "the hardest working man in show business" passed away on July 24 at age 88 of natural causes.
<p> "His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with him – for his warmth, his legendary sense of humour, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about," his family said in a statement. "We thank his fans and admirers for their incredible support over his 60-year career and ask for privacy as we mourn his loss."
<p> Regis's passing was immediately mourned by many in Hollywood, including today's most popular talk show hosts.
<p> "Regis was a great broadcaster, a good friend and a tremendous amount of fun," <strong><a href=/tags/0/jimmy=kimmel>Jimmy Kimmel</a></strong> tweeted on July 25. "He leaves behind a beautiful family and a TV legacy that will likely go unmatched. Regis, I hope our friend [Don] Rickles met you at the pearly gates with open arms and a slew of the insults you loved so much."
<p>Photo: © Michael Kovac/Getty Images for 101 Studios](/images/stories/0/2020/07/27/000/786/091/gallery_5_3.jpg)
![<h2>Benjamin Keough</h2>
<p><Strong>Lisa Marie Presley</strong>'s son, who was also <strong>Elvis Presley</strong>'s grandson, has tragically died at age 27 of an apparent suicide. He was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 12, according to TMZ.
<p>"[Lisa Marie] is completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong for her 11-year-old twins and her oldest daughter Riley," Lisa's rep said in a statement. "She adored that boy. He was the love of her life."
<p>Riley was the son of <strong>Danny Keough</strong>, Lisa Marie's ex-husband. She also shares daughter Riley, who is an actress, with Danny. Lisa Marie also has twin daughters, <strong>Harper</strong> and <strong>Finley</strong>, with her second ex-husband, <strong>Michael Lockwood</strong>.
<p>Benjamin's resemblance to his legendary grandfather was something most people noticed, including his mother.
<p>"Everybody was grabbing him for a photo because it is just uncanny," Lisa Marie told CMT of the time her son visited the Grand Ole Opry in 2012. "Sometimes I am overwhelmed when I look at him."
<p>Photo: © Dave M. Benett/Getty Images](/images/stories/0/2020/07/13/000/783/781/gallery_5_3.jpg)
![<h2>Little Richard</h2>
<p>The rock and roll legend who helped create and popularize the genre and influenced countless others from John Lennon to Mick Jagger died of bone cancer at age 87.
<[>The man born Richard Penniman passed away on May 9, his son, Danny Penniman, confirmed to the media.
<p>Little Richard was born in Macon, Ga. in 1932. He was the son of a brick mason who came from a family of preachers. His evangelical upbringing was to heavily influence both his music and his life.
<p> By the time he burst onto the scene with his first hit," Tutti Frutti," in 1956, he already had a track record of shocking people with his performances. He had been singing in drag on stage since the 1940s.
<p> There were definitely others had become rock stars before him, such as Elvis Presley and Fats Domino. But his influence on rock music continues to this day because the way he was creating music and performing it was unparalleled. It still is.
<p>His use of flamboyant, colourful costumes and makeup immediately set him apart from other rock and rollers. The way he played his piano was also markedly different from anyone else at the time.
<p>In 2010, when the National Recording Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress included "Tutti Frutti," it said the song's "unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music." Who can forget its incredible exclamation, "Awopbopaloobopalopbamboom!"? It's never been matched.
<p>"I didn't ever want to be anything else," he told Rolling Stone in 1973. "Jerry Lee [Lewis] is a very intricate piano player and very skillful, but Little Richard is more of a pounder."
<p>He mixed gospel with rock in a way that thrilled teens and people coming of age in the mid-'50s. The star also didn't hide his sexual orientation, and openly admitted his attraction to other men – he called himself "omnisexual." He also advocated the equality of all people – when he played to segregated audiences in the American south, his shows would often end with black and white people all dancing together.
<p>His attitude and vocal frills were often adopted and imitated by others such as The Beatles, Elton John, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Prince... the list really is endless. If you pick anyone in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Little Richard has influenced them in some way.
<p>He followed "Tutti Frutti" with "Long Tall Sally" and "Rip It Up" the same year. The Beatles went on to cover the former track. "Lucille" and "Good Golly Miss Molly" were then both released and became hits in 1957 and 1958, respectively.
<p> Little Richard's career seemed to come to a close just as soon as it started. Just two years after "Tutti Frutti" was released, he left music and became a preacher and tried to <p>have a career recording gospel music.
But in 1962, he began performing rock and roll again, just before The Beatles began to take off up the charts with their mix of skiffle and rock music heavily influenced by his songs. John, Paul, George and Ringo actually opened for him when they were gigging in Hamburg, back when The Beatles were struggling for their big break.
<p>"I could do Little Richard's voice, which is a wild, hoarse, screaming thing," Paul McCartney told author Barry Miles in his Many Years from Now biography. "It's like an out-of-body experience. You have to leave your current sensibilities and go about a foot above your head to sing it. You have to actually go outside yourself."
<p>Little Richard continued taking breaks from performing and did so again in the late '70s after having battled alcohol and drug addiction. He returned to performing in the 1980s and continued thrilling audiences on and off until 2012. In his later years, he dealt with a stroke, heart attack and had a hip replacement.
<p> Prior to that, though, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and won a Lifetime Achievement Award GRAMMY in 1993. He even appeared on Sesame Street. The Hall of Fame rightly calls him one of the architects of rock and roll. Any rock song you hear today has been influenced by him. May he rest in peace.
<p>Photo: © Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images](/images/stories/0/2020/05/11/000/776/361/gallery_1_1.jpg)
![<h2>Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant – Jan. 26</h2>
<p>The former NBA star and his daughter, 13, were among nine people who passed away in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif.
<p>NBA Commissioner and CEO <strong>Adam Silver</strong> said the league was "devastated" by the news.
<p> "For 20 seasons, Kobe showed us what is possible when remarkable talent blends with an absolute devotion to winning," he said, according to <i><a href=https://people.com/sports/nba-commisisoner-on-kobe-bryants-death/?utm_campaign=peoplemag&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&xid=socialflow_facebook_peoplemag>People</a></i>. "He was one of the most extraordinary players in the history of our game with accomplishments that are legendary... But he will be remembered most for inspiring people around the world to pick up a basketball and compete to the very best of their ability. He was generous with the wisdom he acquired and saw it as his mission to share it with future generations of players, taking a special delight in passing down his love of the game to Gianna."
<p><strong>Shaquille O'Neal</strong>, Kobe's longtime teammate, shared his anguish at his friend's passing on Twitter.
<p>"There's no words to express the pain Im going through with this tragedy of [losing] my [niece] Gigi & my brother @kobebryant," he wrote. "I love u and u will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW."
<p>Kobe's wife, <strong>Vanessa</strong>, was not on board the aircraft.
<p>Photo: © Harry How/Getty Images](/images/stories/0/2020/01/27/000/756/517/gallery_5_3.jpg)
