David Bowie once selected his favourite Little Richard album
When David Bowie released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, he transformed from a modestly successful musician into a glam rock icon. The 1970s saw Bowie become one of the decade’s biggest stars, releasing some of the most influential records ever, from Aladdin Sane to Heroes. The decade was a prolific period for the musician, cementing him as one of modern music’s definitive voices.
When Bowie passed away in 2016, he left an enormous legacy behind him. Yet, as noted in the book David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music, “If it hadn’t been for [Little Richard], I wouldn’t have gone into music.” He continued, “When I was nine and first saw Litte Richard in a film that played around town — I think it was probably [The] Girl Can’t Help It — seeing those four saxophonists onstage, it was like ‘I want to be in that band!’ And for a couple years, that was my ambition, to be in a band playing saxophone behind Little Richard. That’s why I got a saxophone.”
Little Richard was one of music’s greatest pioneers, significantly helping the development of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, funk and soul. He developed an interest in music from an early age, inspired by the gospel music he was surrounded by in his religious upbringing. In The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography, Charles White noted that as a child, Richard would “beat on the steps of the house, and on tin cans and pots and pans, or whatever” to make music.
At the age of 14, Sister Rosetta Tharpe gave Little Richard a chance to open one of her shows, which cemented his desire to become a performer. By the following decade, he was one of music’s most recognisable figures, shaping the course of the medium through his powerful voice and electric performances.
One of his most famous songs, 1955’s ‘Tutti Frutti’, was a seminal track in Bowie’s life. According to the book David Bowie: Starman, “Then, I hit gold: ‘Tutti Frutti’ by Little Richard – my heart nearly burst with excitement. I’d never heard anything even resembling this. It filled the room with energy and colour and outrageous defiance. I had heard God.”
Talking to Vanity Fair in 2003, Bowie selected 25 of his favourite albums, and, of course, a Little Richard record made the cut. Among picks such as The Velvet Underground and Nico and Syd Barrett’s The Madcap Laughs is Little Richard’s The Fabulous Little Richard, his third album, from 1958. The record marked the end of his rock and roll period, and by this point, Richard had focused his attention on religion. The album features overdubbed female vocals from The Stewart Sisters, which he used to attract more commercial appeal. Although it certainly wasn’t Little Richard’s most successful album, it found a welcome home in Bowie’s collection.
