LGBTQ+ Black History Month Day 25: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey

Day 25, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey

Gertrude "Ma" Rainey

Born April 26, 1886- Dec. 22, 1939

Singer

"If Bessie Smith is the acknowledged “Queen of the Blues,” then Gertrude “Ma” Rainey is the undisputed “Mother of the Blues.” As music historian Chris Albertson has written, “If there was another woman who sang the blues before Rainey, nobody remembered hearing her.” Rainey fostered the blues idiom, and she did so by linking the earthy spirit of country blues with the classic style and delivery of Bessie Smith. She often played with such outstanding jazz accompanists as Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson, but she was more at home fronting a jugband or washboard band.

Ma Rainey was born Gertrude Pridgett on April 26, 1886, in Columbus, Georgia. She was the second of five children of Thomas and Ella (née Allen) Pridgett, from Alabama. She had at least two brothers and a sister named Malissa, with whom Gertrude was later confused in some cases. She made her performing debut at the age of 14 in a local show called “A Bunch of Blackberries. ” In her late teens, she married William Rainey, and both toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels.  

That troupe is said to have featured Rainey singing the blues. If that is true, those performances precede the blues boom by some 17 years. No matter, by all accounts, she was the first woman to incorporate blues into vaudeville, minstrel and tent shows. In fact, it is believed that Rainey coached a young Bessie Smith while touring with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. 

In 1914, she and her husband began touring as Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues. They often spent their winters in New Orleans, and there she met such musicians as Joe “King” Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet and Pops Foster.  

In 1923, Rainey signed with Paramount Records. That December, she made her first eight recordings for the label. These included the songs “Bad Luck Blues,” “Bo-Weevil Blues” and “Moonshine Blues.” Over the next five years, she recorded more than 100 songs for the label. Paramount marketed her extensively, calling her the “Mother of the Blues,” the “Songbird of the South,” the “Gold-Neck Woman of the Blues" and the “Paramount Wildcat.” In 1924, she made some recordings with Louis Armstrong, including "Jelly Bean Blues,” "Countin' the Blues" and "See, See Rider.”

With her broad, toothy smile, multidirectional horsehair wig and necklace of $20 gold coins, Rainey was a sight to behold. “They said she was the ugliest woman in show business,” Alberta Hunter once said. “But Ma Rainey didn’t care, because she pulled in the crowds. Some of us used to laugh at her, because she was so countryfied. But I think her looks were part of her act – just look at some of those kids out there today, those young med with the wild hair and makeup. Are they pretty? No, but people notice them, and they’re making money.”

When the blues faded from popularity in the Thirties, the earthy Ma Rainey returned home to her Georgia hometown, where she ran two theaters. Ma Rainey died from a from a heart attack on December 22, 1939.

Ma Rainey was inducted into the Blue Foundation’s Hall of Fame in 1990, the same year she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, “See, See Rider” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame."

"Went out last night with a crowd of my friends,

They must have been women, cause I don't like no men.

Wear my clothes just like a fan, Talk to gals just like any old man

Cause they say I do it, ain't nobody caught me, Sure got to prove it on me."

- Gertrude "Ma" Rainey 

Info from: rockhall.com

LGBTQ+ Black History Month Day 24: Phill Wilson

Day 24, Phil Wilson

Phill Wilson

Born April 22, 1956

AIDS Activist

"In 1981, Phill Wilson and partner Chris Brownlie, who owned a small giftware company together, found themselves in a doctor’s office, puzzling over mysteriously swollen lymph nodes. While no test yet existed to accurately diagnose their condition, both were infected with HIV, which was already sending shockwaves throughout the gay community. Since then, Wilson, 55, has made it his life’s mission to battle the epidemic, particularly within the black community.

Living in L.A. at the time, he and Brownlie quickly became involved with every area organization tackling this new plague, and helped to found AIDS Project Los Angeles in the process. Tragically, Brownlie succumbed to AIDS in 1989.

Wilson funneled his anger and sorrow into even more intense community efforts: In 1999 he founded The Black AIDS Institute, where he remains Executive Director, and has helped create numerous other service and community organizations including the Chris Brownlie Hospice, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the National Minority AIDS Council, the Los Angeles County Gay Men of Color Consortium and the CAEAR Coalition.

In an interview for PBS’ Frontline, Wilson shared:

As early as 1984, 1985, 25% of the AIDS cases in America were African-American. The majority of children with AIDS were African-American. The majority of women with AIDS were African-American. African- Americans have always been disproportionately impacted by HIV and AIDS. The thing that strikes me about the AIDS epidemic is that, quite frankly, it’s always been about race, or it’s always been about ‘the other,’ and that’s one reason why stigma has been such a barrier to end this epidemic.

Asked what advice he would give young people today, he said:

“I basically would say to anyone, young, old or otherwise, that there will be an accounting, and you have to be comfortable with that. [The] price of the ticket for life is to leave the world a better place than you found it. That’s the minimum payment that we owe for the privilege of having spent time on this planet. Make sure that you at least pay the minimum dues.”

Ugh.

LGBTQ+ Black History Month is supposed to be a time to celebrate all kinds of LGBTQ+ Black Icons, 

And its really upsetting me that I can't find any non binary LGBTQ+ Icons.

I google searched "Black Non Binary Celebrities"

And the only person that turned up was Agender Singer and Songwriter Raeen Rose

 (formerly known as Angel Haze)

The rest were all white people.

-_-

There has to be more Black non binary famous people out there,

But I don't see them anywhere. 

This is so frustrating,

Ugh.

LGBTQ+ Black History Month Day 23: Isis King

Day 23, Isis King

Isis King

Born October 1, 1985

Fashion model and Designer

   " Isis King, an artist hailing from Prince George County, Maryland, is a graduate of the Arts Institute of Philadelphia. Majoring in “Fashion Design” and accepted to the school with a full-tuition scholarship, Isis served as Vice President of the “Fashion Club,” and graduated with the Industry Award for “Best Evening Wear” in 2005. After graduation, Ms. King began the process of preparing a move to New York City. It was during this time that a MSNBC documentary about Transgendered Individuals in 2007, entitled “Born in the Wrong Body: On the Edge” featuring Ms. King, introducing her to the world.

Isis King’s “spotlight,” was now on.

  The life changing moment came for Isis, when the creator, producer and star of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM), Tyra Banks, observed her, ironically enough, at a “Cycle 10” ANTM photo shoot. Isis was encouraged to audition for “Cycle 11” of ANTM and was selected. For the first time in her life, she boarded an aircraft and traveled to compete amongst other “Supermodel” hopefuls. Leaving behind her fears, the homeless shelter where she was a resident and all apprehensions, she became the first woman of transgender experience to compete on ANTM. As a result, Isis became an ICON, as the most commented upon contestant in ANTM history.

  Freelance Fashion Model, Designer and Motivational Speaker, Ms. King currently works in all areas of entertainment. Her belief in following one’s dreams is the driving force for her success. She has expanded her purview to include acting and recently filmed a movie in the Philippines . Ms. King’s mission, is to be the epitome of a well-rounded, world renowned entertainer and artist. "

 "God doesn't make mistakes, and I'm not a mistake. This is the way I am."

-Isis King

Info from: kingisis.com

I am not Broken, I'm Free

Big News y'all, 

I moved out of my house on Friday.

I feel... free. 

My mom is pissed off. Like really pissed off.

She says I'm the ultimate betrayer.

-_-

It hurt me to leave, it still hurts.

But I couldn't stay there, it was even more painful not being able to be myself.

So now, I live in Eastie, with my best friend Cam. 

And hopefully, everything will work out.

                            

LGBTQ+ Black History Month Day 22: Jean Michel Basquiat

Day 22, Jean Michel Basquiat

Jean Michel Basquiat

Born December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988

Painter, Neo expressionist and graffiti artist

"In his short life, Jean-Michel Basquiat was a pop icon, cultural figure, graffiti artist, musician, and neo-expressionist painter. He was a precocious child, and by the age of four he could both read and write. By the time he was eleven, he was fluent in English, French, and Spanish. And by the time was fifteen, he ran away from home, living for less than a week in Washington Square Park, after which he was arrested and sent back home to live with his father. He dropped out of school in tenth grade, after which his father kicked him out of the house, leaving the young artist to live with friends, supporting himself by selling T-shirts and homemade postcards. 

In the 1970’s Basquiat began spray painting buildings in Lower Manhattan, using the pseudonym SAMO, earning him notoriety and a certain amount of fame. He appeared on television in 1979 on the sow “TV Party,” and that same year formed a rock band called “Gray,” which performed all throughout New York. During this time, he also appeared in the music video “Rapture” by Blondie. 

By 1982, he was regularly showing his work, and had many high-profile friend ships, including a brief relationship with Madonna, a brief involvement with the musician David Bowie, and a long-time collaboration with the artist Andy Warhol. He worked on his paintings in $1,000 dollar Armani suits, in which he would appear in public, spattered in paint. He also appeared on the cover of New York Times Magazine in 1986. 

Although he was a successful artist, Basquiat became addicted to heroin, and after the death of his friend Andy Warhol in 1987, his addiction became worse. He became increasingly isolated, and died of a heroin overdose in 1988.Posthumously, many exhibitions of his works have been held, and biopics, books, collections of poems and feature films have all been inspired by his work and life. "

"The black person is the protagonist in most of my paintings. I realized that I didn't see many paintings with black people in them."

-Jean Michel Basquiat

Ps. There's more information on Basquiat, check this out, 

www.biography.com/people/jean-michel-basquiat-185851

Pp.s His art though...

Is so righteous

Info from: www.wikiart.org/en/jean-michel-basquiat

LGBTQ+ Black History Month Day 21: Dee Rees

Day 21, Dee Rees

Dee Rees

Born... I couldn't find her birthday, sorry y'all

Writer, Director, Producer

"Dee Rees is an alumna of New York University’s graduate film program and a 2008 Sundance Screenwriting & Directing Lab Fellow. She has written and directed several short films, including Orange Bow (centering on a teenage boy) and Pariah. The latter, completed in 2007, screened at over 40 festivals worldwide (including Sundance) and garnered 25 Best Short awards. 

Additionally, Pariah was a finalist for the 2009 Sundance/NHK International Award. Ms. Rees was also selected as a 2008 Tribeca Institute/Renew Media Arts Fellow for her work; was chosen as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” for 2008; and was nominated for a USA Fellowship in 2009. Pariah has now been expanded into Pariah, which world-premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was honored with the Festival’s [U.S. Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award (Bradford Young).

The Nashville native’s most recent short film, Colonial Gods, aired on the BBC in the fall of 2009. The short chronicles a complicated friendship between a Somali man and a Nigerian man, set against the backdrop of gentrification in the small immigrant community in Cardiff, Wales known as Tiger Bay.

Also prior to making Pariah, Ms. Rees directed a documentary feature, Eventual Salvation. The film, which she also edited, received a 2007 Sundance Documentary Fund Grant and premiered on the Sundance Channel in October 2009. It follows her grandmother’s return to Liberia on to help rebuild a community following the country’s civil war.

She previously worked as a script supervision intern on Spike Lee’s epic documentaryWhen the Levees Broke and feature Inside Man; and earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Florida A&M University."

"Heartbreak opens onto the sunrise

For even breaking is opening

And I am broken

I’m open

Broken to the new light without pushing in

Open to the possibilities within, pushing out

See the love shine in through my cracks?

See the light shine out through me?

I  am broken

I am open

I am broken open

See the love light shining through me

Shining through my cracks

Through the gaps

My spirit takes journey

My spirit takes flight

Could not have risen otherwise

And I am not running

I’m choosing

Running is not a choice from the breaking

Breaking is freeing

Broken is freedom

I am not broken

I’m free."

-Dee Rees (from the movie Pariah)

Ps. Pariah is such a good movie

Such a good movie

Watch it, seriously, you won't regret it

Info from: focus features.com

LGBTQ+ Black History Month Day 20: Imam Daayiee Abdullah

Day 20, Imam Daayiee Abdullah

Imam Daayiee Abdullah 

Born January 22, 1954

First openly Gay Imam in America

"Imam Daayiee Abdullah is a prominent human and sexuality rights activist within Muslim and interfaith contexts. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan in an educated community with parents that were community activists. They encouraged him to have faith in something greater than himself, and he was nurtured and baptized at age 8 in a Southern Baptist church. Daayiee had exposure to many faiths in his formative years, and he was a precocious and adventurous youth who eventually moved to San Francisco, California in 1975.While in San Francisco, he went to court reporting school and became a stenographer that worked for the IRS for several years. Although at the age of 5 he knew there was something different about him and he voiced this to his parents at the age of 15, he would not meet his first adult partner until the move to San Francisco. While attending a Metropolitan Community Church, he met a mentor Monty Cardwell that acclimated him to the black gay community. Daayiee began his own activism within the gay community, which lead him to work as one of the San Francisco coordinators for the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. After spending extended time in Washington, DC, he decided to move there.

After arriving in Washington, DC he had a vision that told him to study Chinese. He entered Georgetown University as a Community Scholar and quickly began studying Chinese language and literature. While in this program, he was encouraged to go to Beijing University to further his studies. During his tenure at Beijing in the early 1980s, he met some Chinese Muslims that invited him to experience the “real Islam” at their mosque. He was initially drawn to the faith because of its prayer process and continued to visit the mosque but did not formally convert until 1985. His program at Georgetown also concentrated on Arabic which made possible study abroad in the Middle East and gave him the preparation for his further study of Islam and the Quran.

Imam Abdullah was 37 when he completed the degree at Georgetown and entered D.C. School of Law. He graduated from law school and practiced corporate then public interest law for several years before returning to the Middle East in 1997 to teach for the Royal Saudi Air Force. While in Saudi Arabia he researched a homosexual positive interpretation of the Quran. In that work he argues that homosexuality is not an issue in Islam because his comparison of various interpretations of the Quran reveals that interpreters made generalizations and misrepresentations of the original Arabic. He sent that paper to Faisal Alam, founder of the Al-Fatiha Foundation, a GLBTQ Muslim organization. Upon returning to the United States at the end of 1999, he started volunteering with Al-Fatiha as a board member and religious advisor.

Daayiee became an authority on homosexuality and Islam and traveled widely lecturing that the Quran does not speak against homosexuality. He frequently lectures internationally on progressive Muslim concepts, interfaith networking and the development of inclusive revisions of Islamic theological thought and interpretations of the shari’ah and fiqh. In addition to this work, he has served as moderator for the Muslim Gay Men Discussion group for over 10 years. His many roles within progressive Islam led many in the gay Muslim community to consider him an imam as he was performing marriages, funerals, and counseling those in the community. Realizing his deep scholastic interest in Islamic studies, Imam Abdullah began training in Virginia at the Graduate School of Islamic Social Sciences in 2000 with aspirations of becoming a sheikh. Before completing his master’s degree in Shari’ah Sciences and Quranic Interpretation he was kicked out of the school for being openly gay. Despite this shunning, Imam Abdullah has served as an Imam for ten years here in the United States as well as in Europe, Norway, the Netherlands, and the U.K.

Currently, he is active with the Muslims for Progressive Values organization as an advisory board member and D.C. co-chapter leader. He is the Imam and Educational Director of Masjid el-Tawhid An-Nur Al-Isslaah (Mosque for Enlightenment and Reformation) that is affiliated with the el-Tawhid Prayer Circle of Toronto, Ontario in Canada, and the California based organization Muslims for Progressive Values. Imam Abdullah’s D.C. mosque is an intentionally inclusive community with mixed prayers, gender equality, queer friendly, intrafaith welcoming and intrafaith involved, and led by an openly gay imam, to show the diversity of their model for progressive Muslim worship across the globe.

Although he has long been involved in actively promoting understanding and awareness of issues of racial, sexual, and gender equality both within and beyond Muslim communities, he has an equally productive social life. He enjoys claymation, music concerts, and community work. Finally, Imam Abdullah takes considerable pride in helping other Muslims find the same peace of knowing God that he has found. Imam Daayiee can be reached through his website, www.daayiee.com or Daayiee@aol.com."

"By not allowing same sex couples to wed, there is a direct 

attack on the Qu'ran's message that each person has a 

mate who is their 'comfort and their cloak'".

-Imam Daayiee Abdullah

Info from: lgbtran.org

LGBTQ+ Black History Month Day 19: Alice Walker

Day 19, Alice Walker

Alice Walker

Born February 9, 1944

Poet, Essayist, Novelist, Activist

"Poet, essayist, and novelist Alice Walker was born February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia, the eighth and last child of sharecroppers Willie Lee and Minnie Lou Grant Walker. She attended Spelman College and received a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College.

Her books of poetry include Hard Times Require Furious Dancing (New World Library, 2010); A Poem Traveled Down My Arm: Poems And Drawings (Random House, 2003);Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth (2003); Her Blue Body Everything We Know: Earthling Poems, 1965-1990 Complete (Harcourt, 1991); Horses Make the Landscape More Beautiful (1984); Goodnight, Willie Lee, I’ll See You in the Morning (1979); Revolutionary Petunias and Other Poems(1973); and Once: Poems (1968).

She is also a well-known fiction writer. Among her novels and short story collections are Possessing the Secret of Joy: A Novel (New Press, 2008); The Way Forward is with a Broken Heart (Random House, 2000); By the Light of My Father’s Smile (1998); Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992); The Temple of My Familiar (1989); To Hell With Dying (1988); The Color Purple (1982), which won the Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award; and You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down (1981).

Her collections of essays include Dreads: Sacred Rites of the Natural Hair Revolution (Artisan, 1999. With Francesco Mastalia and Alfonse Pagano); Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer’s Activism (1997); The Same River Twice: Honoring the Difficult; Living by the Word: Selected Writings, 1973-87 (1988); and In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens: Womanist Prose (1983). She has also written a memoir, The Chicken Chronicles (The New Press, 2011).

Walker has won numerous awards and honors, including the Lillian Smith Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rosenthal Award from the National Institute of Arts & Letters, and fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute, a Merrill Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She lives in Mendocino, California.

Her books have been translated into more than two dozen languages.

---

Selected Bibliography

Poetry

Once (1968)

Revolutionary Petunias & Other Poems (1973)

Good Night, Willie Lee, I’ll See You in the Morning (1979)

Horses Make a Landscape Look More Beautiful (1985)

Her Blue Body Everything We Know: Earthling Poems (1991)

Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth (2003)

A Poem Traveled Down My Arm: Poems And Drawings (2003)

Prose

The Third Life of Grange Copeland (1970)

Everyday Use (1973)

Meridian (1976)

The Color Purple (1982)

You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down: Stories (1982)

Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992)

Now Is The Time to Open Your Heart (2005)"

"Activism is my rent for living on this planet."

-Alice Walker

Ps. The Color Purple The musical is amazing and Walker has said that the musical embodies more of what she wrote in the book rather than the movie soooo :D
Go see it!

Info from: poets.org

The Year We Thought About Love: A Super Righteous Documentary!

Ever since I was a kid I've loved television, movies, and film.

Watching them, the behind the scenes, everything.

My favorite kind of film has always been documentaries. 

I love learning about different people and different cultures.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, 

I work at True Colors Out Youth Theater, 

A theater troupe for lgbtq+ youth ages 14-22. 

Through the creation of our own plays and musicals, we teach people about the lgbtq+ community and more.

So last night, I went to one of the first movie screenings of 

The Year We Thought About Love

A documentary about True Colors, 

filmed during its fall season in 2012 to fall 2013. 

In the movie we learned about the different youth and their backgrounds, 

including my friends Alyssa and Kriss,

We got to see them create a play about love, 

deal with the trauma of the marathon bombing, 

we saw laughter, and love, changes, and true family. 

I got to see all my friends when they first started in troupe, 

Super cute.

Its a righteous movie, seriously.

Everybody go see it. 

The poster for the movie!!!

Me and my peeps about to go in for the special screening!

From left to right: Alex aka Ray Ray, Me, and Nicole, and Cam is behind the camera

Haha, Cam behind the Cam-era...

Alright that was corny, don't judge...

Order tickets for the Official Boston Premiere of The Year We Thought About Love on 

Sunday March 15 at 3pm at Hibernian Hall (its really close to Dudley Station)!

LGBTQ+ Black History Month Day 18: Brittney Griner

Day 18, Brittney Griner

Brittney Griner

October 18, 1990 

Pro Basketball Player

"Brittney Griner plays for the Phoenix Mercury, but has been receiving attention long before she joined the WNBA. The #1 high school women's basketball player in 2009 and the first NCAA player in her sport to score 2,000 points, this star athlete has a long list of awards and titles to her name, and she's hasn't even been out of college a full year. In April 2013, Brittney let the public know in a Sports Illustrated interview that she is open about being a lesbian. The ESPY Award winning best female college athlete of 2013 was recently featured in "Journey of the Gay Athlete," a CNN documentary."

"Don't Hide Who You Really Are."

-Brittney Griner

Info from: glaad.org

2015 GLSEN Massachusetts Spring Conference!!!

Hey Friends!

Exciting news!

 GLSEN 

(Gay Lesbian Straight and Education Network, its not only for Gay Lesbian and Straight students though)

Is having its annual spring conference in Boston, at a venue to be determined but easily accessible by the MBTA,

Its free for students, and they have accommodation for attendees with disabilities.

You can run your own workshop, etc.

Let your teachers know that they can attend too and learn a couple of things!

I expect a bunch of you to register and attend, 

Its going to be really righteous!

A message from Skailer Qvistgaard, the conference chair person:

"The GLSEN Spring 2015 conference is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever before.  Last conference we had workshops on everything from supporting transgender youth, to LGBTQ+ sports inclusion,to body positivity and beyond.  This year we are looking forward to hosting an even more diverse range of workshops for middle and high school students, educators, and LGBTQ+ activists from around the state.  We will also be featuring a special track for Boston Public School educators as well.  We look forward to seeing you there and to hearing your unique voice speaking up for safer schools for LGBTQ+ students.

We look forward to seeing you at the Spring Conference!"

Here's a link to the website:

http://glsen.org/massachusetts-chapter/article/2015-glsen-massachusetts-spring-conference

Here's a link to the student registration form:

 http://massachusetts.glsen.org/page/s/2015-spring-conference-student

And here's the link to the teacher/educator registration form:

http://massachusetts.glsen.org/page/s/2015-glsen-massachusetts-spring-conference-educator-adult-registration

(Just copy and paste the links into the search bar)

You can leave any messages for me, questions, concerns, about the conference, in the comment section!

Update on Angel Haze

So just an update,  Day 14's LGBTQ+ Black Icon, 

Singer and Rapper Angel Haze identifies as Agender, 

(not non binary or gender variant)

Reminder that Agender means:

"without a gender (nongendered, genderless, agender; neutrois); moving between genders or with a fluctuating gender identity (genderfluid); third gender or other-gendered; includes those who do not place a name to their gender"

LGBTQ+ Black History Month Day 17: Little Richard

Day 17, Little Richard

Little Richard

Born December 5, 1932

Singer and Song Writer

"The screaming vocals, rattling keyboard style and outrageous showmanship of Little Richard set the standard for the flamboyant excess rock 'n' roll has come to symbolize. 

Richard Wayne Penniman was born December 5, 1932 one of twelve children. His father Charles "Bud" Penniman was a Seventh Day Adventist preacher who sold moonshine on the side. Richard grew up on a dirt street in an impoverished section of Macon, Georgia. Music was everywhere. Street vendors and evangelist who paraded down his block would sing as loud as they could, whether selling vegetables or religion, to get attention of folks inside. All the neighborhood sang freely as well, improvising on spiritual songs to keep them company as they worked. Some gospel singers, particularly Marion Williams of the Clara Ward singers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Mahalia Jackson had a profound influence on Richard.

As a youngster he sang gospel with the Penniman Singers and Tiny Tots Quartet. Richard had an infectious, hyperactive personality that was contagious and made him popular, but also got him into trouble and his homosexuality didn't help matters and he left home to dance to draw customer in a traveling medicine. By age fifteen he was a regular with Sugarfoot Sam's Minstrel Show.

In 1951 at 18 he won a talent contest in Atlanta that led to a recording contract with RCA Victor. Four records were recorded that went nowhere.

A local musician Esquerita took an interest in Richard and taught him some piano techniques. In the winter of 1952 his father was murdered and he returned to Macon to perform the blues at the Tick Tock Club in the evening while washing dishes at the cafeteria of a Greyhound bus station during the day.

Bill Wright, a local blues singer from New Orleans, might have been the person who had the greatest influence on Richard. When Richard  met Wright in 1952 he was immediately taken with Wright's  appearance. Wright wore pomade in hair that was piled high on his head and flashy clothes.  It was Wright's stage make up of eyeliner and face powder that really caught Richard's attention.

While in Houston, his contract with RCA Victor expired, he recorded two singles for Peacock Records. One of the records "Rice, Red Beans and Turnip Greens" sounded like a precursor to "She's Got It".  In early 1955 he recorded his last two singles for Peacock backed by the Johnny Otis Trio. One of the songs "Little Richard's Boogie" offer a glimmer of his style.

Back in Macon in early 1955 Richard was again working as a dishwasher when he cut a demo tape. Lloyd Price, whom he knew, suggested that the demo be sent to Specialty Records  with whom Price recorded.  Art Rupe, the owner of Speciality, was hardly impressed and it would be six months before he got a call.  A recording  session was arranged in New Orleans' J&M Studios, owned by Cosimo Matassa and the home studio of Fats Domino. Bumps Blackwell  was given the responsibility of meeting Richard and recording the session.

Initially Blackwell, was no more successful then his predecessors. Richard choose to record  generally slow blues and he felt that none were particularly good. During a break he and Richard went to the Dew Drop Inn. With few people there and an old upright piano, Richard started playing like crazy, singing loud, lewd and hamming it up. Blackwell was stunned why couldn't he record this? Local lyricist was Dorothy LaBostrie was called to clean up the lyric. They went back to J&M and with only fifteen minutes left in the session. "Tutti Fruiti, good booty" became "Tutti Fruiti, aw-rootie" and the rest is history.

From the time he began with Specialty on September 13, 1955 until he left in October, 1957 Richard  would record fifty songs, including alternate takes. From this wealth of material Specialty would release 9 singles and two albums.

For eighteen months between early 1956 to the middle of 1957 everything he recorded was a hit and club dates were sellouts. He appeared in several movies including "The Girl Can't Help It' for which he recorded the title track. On October 12, 1957 he began a tour of Australia with Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent. In 1957, in the midst of a sold-out tour,  Richard quit rock 'n' roll, after  a plane scare, to become a preacher in the Seventh Day Adventist Church.  Specialty wouldn't let him out of his contract without one last session.

He entered Oakwood Seminary in Huntsville, Alabama where he began studies to become a Seventh Day Adventist Preacher. In the meantime Specialty had enough material to keep releasing singles and albums for another year. Sensing he was being cheated Richard hired a lawyer to collect back royalties from Specialty Records that he estimated at $25,000.

In January 1959 he signed with an Los Angeles agency to set up a gospel tour and in June signed a recording contract with Gone Records.

After three years of little success as a gospel performer Richard went back to Rock and Roll..  October, 1962 he began a tour of England and year later toured Europe with the Rolling Stones as his opening act.

A number of record companies took notice and invited him back to the studio, but they were only interested in repackaging his old hits. Specialty, in five sessions attempted to rekindle the 1957 magic.

During this period Jimi Hendrix was briefly Richard's guitarists.

Little Richard enjoyed a renewed popularity with the rock and roll revivals in the late '60s. In 1970 he signed with Reprise Records and had a minor hit with "Freedom Blues." For The Second Coming he was reunited with Bumps Blackwell, Lee Allen, and Earl Palmer.

In 1976 Little Richard returned to the ministry, and by 1979 had recorded God's Beautiful City for World Records, and had become a full-time evangelist. In October 1985 he was seriously injured in an accident in West Hollywood.

In 1986 he appeared in the hit movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills, which included his first hit in sixteen years, "Great Gosh a 'Mighty," and recorded Lifetime Friend for Warner Brothers. He dueted with Phillip Bailey on the title song to the 1988 film Twins and sang background vocals on the minor U2-B.b. King hit "when Love Comes to town" in 1989. In 1993 Little Richard performed at Bill Clinton's presidential inaugural.

Little Richard was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986"

"Elvis may be the King of Rock and Roll, but I am the Queen."

-Little Richard

Info from: history-of-rock.com