Deaths 2022

Deaths 2021

Deaths 2020

Deaths 2019

Deaths 2018

Deaths 2017

Deaths 2016

Deaths 2015

Deaths 2014

Deaths 2013

Deaths 2012

Deaths 2011

Deaths 2010

Deaths 2009


Full list by date of death

Little Richard

Singer/musician

Born - 5 December 1932, Macon, Georgia, USA
Died - 9 May 2020

Not-too-tall, trailblazing Afro-American pianist and singer with pencil moustache, the self-styed 'architect of rock 'n' roll', who would stand at his piano while playing it and screeching out rock lyrics at the same time. Born Richard Pennington, with one leg shorter than the other, he made light of his disability and stature with the sheer force of his personality, bursting on the music scene with such hits as Tutti Frutti and Good Golly, Miss Molly and selling records by the million. There were, of course, also guest appearances in 1950s rock musicals and cameo appearances beyond: Don't Knock the Rock (1956), The Girl Can't Help It (1956), Mister Rock and Roll (1957), Catalina Caper (1967), Black Rodeo (1972), Let the Good Times Roll (1973), The Little Richard Story (1980), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Purple People Eater (1988), Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme (1990), Sunset Heat (1992), The Pickle (1993), Last Action Hero (1993), The Late Shift (1996), Chairman of the Board (1998), Gotta Keep Dreamin' (2016) and Hitsville: The Making of Motown (2019), his last. He died from bone cancer.