Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll documentary

If you saw the last year’s movie Elvis, it might have got you wondering what the next Oscar-nominated, blockbusting music biopic will be.

Well, if any filmmakers are looking for inspiration, they could probably do worse than elevate one of the supporting characters in Elvis to the role of leading man – Little Richard.

The piano-playing pioneer has already been the subject of a 2000 made-for-TV movie, but after watching the feature-length documentary Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, few people would argue against his rollercoaster life deserving the big-screen treatment.

Born Richard Penniman in Macon, Georgia, in 1932, the future star was the third of 12 children and came from a very religious family. He began singing in church at a young age and was still in high school when he left home to join a travelling medicine show.

His first single Taxi Blues, with the B-side Every Hour, was released in 1951, but didn’t make much of an impact. Then four years later, he released Tutti Frutti, a song that changed everything – not just for him, but for the fledgling genre of rock ‘n’ roll.

With its clarion call of ‘A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-lop-bam-boom!’, it was the first in a string of ground-breaking, hugely influential singles that inspired a generation of musicians, including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones (both bands would share a stage with him early in their careers).

It wasn’t just his music that proved inspiring though – there was also his incredible stage presence and the way he broke down boundaries.

As Nile Rodgers says in this documentary: “He was one of those artists that carved out a path for others to walk down.”

Richard was keenly aware how much he’d opened doors for other performers. He once said of Prince: “The little moustache, the moves, the physicality – he’s a genius but he learnt it from me. I was wearing purple before he was born; I was wearing make-up before anyone else.”

Yet at this documentary discovers, although Richard, who died in 2020, may have seemed fearless as well as fabulous, he was often deeply conflicted.

The internal battle between his religious beliefs and his music would see him quit rock twice, and he struggled with his sexuality. He also felt that his huge contribution to rock ‘n’ roll was often overlooked in favour of white stars.

He once told Rolling Stone: “If Elvis had been Black, he wouldn’t have been as big as he was. If I was white, do you know how huge I’d be? If I was white, I’d be able to sit on top of the White House! A lot of things they would do for Elvis and Pat Boone, they wouldn’t do for me.”

Now this documentary sets out to give Richard his due. Drawing on interviews with famous fans including Ringo Starr, Keith Richards and Nile Rodgers, contributions from friends and fans, as well as previously unaired interviews with the man himself, this documentary paints a fascinating portrait of a remarkable artist.