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(CNN) – Little Richard, a pianist and rock ‘n’ roll legend recognized for hits like “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally,” died at the age of 87, former artist artist Dick Alen confirmed to CNN.
Alen informed CNN that the cause of death is related to cancer of the bones.
He called the star “one of the legends, one of the forerunners” and claimed that Little Richard “had been ill for a long time.”
Born Richard Penniman in Georgia in 1932, this rock pioneer would have stood out at any time, but in the 1950s when he rose to fame, he was like no other: a flamboyant, makeup pianist who embodied “devil music” in the opinion of those who ran the popular music business.
Elvis Presley was one thing, but despite all his pelvic movements and combed-back hair and the appearance of a juvenile delinquent, deep down he was an educated southern boy who loved his dad. Little Richard, however… well, he may have come from a large southern family, but he represented something else.
Richard opened the door. He brought the races together, “arranger HB Barnum said in Charles White’s 1984 biography” The Life and Times of Little Richard. “
“When I first hit the road, there were many segregated audiences. With Richard, although they still had the segregated public in the building, they were there TOGETHER. And most of the time before the end of the night, they all mixed together. ”
Rolling Stones leader Mick Jagger, another important stage figure, was also an admirer.
“There is not a single phrase to describe his dominance over the public. I couldn’t believe Little Richard’s power on stage. It was incredible, ”he said, according to White’s book.
Little Richard knew its power. “They saw me as something like a liberator, a way out,” he once said. “My medium of expression, my music, was a way that many people wished they could express themselves and couldn’t.”
When overlooked in favor of other early rock figures, the artist told SFGate.com: “I created rock rock n’ roll! I am the innovator! I am the emancipator! I am the architect! I am the creator! It is I who started it! ”
CNN’s Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.