- Home
- Biography & Autobiography
- Composers & Musicians
- The Big Life of Little Richard
The Big Life of Little Richard
List Price:
$26.99
- Availability: Confirm prior to ordering
- Branding: minimum 50 pieces (add’l costs below)
- Check Freight Rates (branded products only)
Branding Options (v), Availability & Lead Times
- 1-Color Imprint: $2.00 ea.
- Promo-Page Insert: $2.50 ea. (full-color printed, single-sided page)
- Belly-Band Wrap: $2.50 ea. (full-color printed)
- Set-Up Charge: $45 per decoration
- Availability: Product availability changes daily, so please confirm your quantity is available prior to placing an order.
- Branded Products: allow 10 business days from proof approval for production. Branding options may be limited or unavailable based on product design or cover artwork.
- Unbranded Products: allow 3-5 business days for shipping. All Unbranded items receive FREE ground shipping in the US. Inquire for international shipping.
- RETURNS/CANCELLATIONS: All orders, branded or unbranded, are NON-CANCELLABLE and NON-RETURNABLE once a purchase order has been received.
Product Details
Author:
Mark Ribowsky
Format:
Hardcover
Pages:
256
Publisher:
Diversion Publishing (August 25, 2020)
Imprint:
Diversion Books
Language:
English
Audience:
General/trade
ISBN-13:
9781635767223
ISBN-10:
1635767229
Weight:
17.2oz
Dimensions:
6" x 9" x 0.9"
File:
Eloquence-SimonSchuster_04022026_P9912986_onix30_Complete-20260402.xml
Folder:
Eloquence
List Price:
$26.99
Pub Discount:
65
Case Pack:
36
As low as:
$20.78
Publisher Identifier:
P-SS
Discount Code:
A
Overview
The first major biography of Little Richard, a rollicking, nuanced celebration of the late singer/songwriter’s life and his role in the history of American music—gospel, soul, rock, and more
“Tutti Frutti” • “Rip It Up” • “Good Golly Miss Molly” • “Lucille” • “Long Tall Sally” • “You Keep A-Knockin’”
Little Richard blazed the trail for generations of musicians—The Beatles, James Brown, the Everly Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Prince . . . the list seems endless. He was “The Originator,” “The Innovator,” and the self-anointed “King and Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll.” When he died on May 9, 2020, The Big Life of Little Richard—a nearly-completed book—was immediately updated to cover the international response to his death. It is the first major biography of Macon, Georgia’s Richard Wayne Penniman, who was, until his passing, the last rock god standing.
Mark Ribowsky, acclaimed biographer of musical icons—the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding—takes readers through venues, gigs, and studios, conveying the sweaty energy of music sessions limited to a few tracks on an Ampex tape machine and vocals sung along with a live band. He explores Little Richard’s musicianship; his family life; his uphill battle against racism; his interactions with famous contemporaries and the media; and his lifelong inner conflict between his religion and his sexuality.
The Big Life of Little Richard not only explores a legendary stage persona, but also a complex life under the makeup and pomade, the neon-lit duds and piano pyrotechnics, along with a full-body dive into the waters of sexual fluidity.
By 2020, eighty-seven-year-old Little Richard’s electrifying smile was still intact, as were his bona fides as rock’s kingly architect: the ’50s defined his reign, and he extended elder statesmanship ever since. His biggest smash, “Tutti Frutti,” is one of history’s most covered songs—a staple of the pre-Invasion Beatles—and Elvis pivoted from country to blues rock after Little Richard made R&B’s sexual overtones a fundament of the new musical order. Even Hendrix, the greatest instrumentalist in rock history, toured with him before launching a meteoric solo career.
Whenever someone pushes the music and culture of rock to its outer borders, one should turn to Little Richard for assurance that anything is possible.
“Tutti Frutti” • “Rip It Up” • “Good Golly Miss Molly” • “Lucille” • “Long Tall Sally” • “You Keep A-Knockin’”
Little Richard blazed the trail for generations of musicians—The Beatles, James Brown, the Everly Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Prince . . . the list seems endless. He was “The Originator,” “The Innovator,” and the self-anointed “King and Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll.” When he died on May 9, 2020, The Big Life of Little Richard—a nearly-completed book—was immediately updated to cover the international response to his death. It is the first major biography of Macon, Georgia’s Richard Wayne Penniman, who was, until his passing, the last rock god standing.
Mark Ribowsky, acclaimed biographer of musical icons—the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding—takes readers through venues, gigs, and studios, conveying the sweaty energy of music sessions limited to a few tracks on an Ampex tape machine and vocals sung along with a live band. He explores Little Richard’s musicianship; his family life; his uphill battle against racism; his interactions with famous contemporaries and the media; and his lifelong inner conflict between his religion and his sexuality.
The Big Life of Little Richard not only explores a legendary stage persona, but also a complex life under the makeup and pomade, the neon-lit duds and piano pyrotechnics, along with a full-body dive into the waters of sexual fluidity.
By 2020, eighty-seven-year-old Little Richard’s electrifying smile was still intact, as were his bona fides as rock’s kingly architect: the ’50s defined his reign, and he extended elder statesmanship ever since. His biggest smash, “Tutti Frutti,” is one of history’s most covered songs—a staple of the pre-Invasion Beatles—and Elvis pivoted from country to blues rock after Little Richard made R&B’s sexual overtones a fundament of the new musical order. Even Hendrix, the greatest instrumentalist in rock history, toured with him before launching a meteoric solo career.
Whenever someone pushes the music and culture of rock to its outer borders, one should turn to Little Richard for assurance that anything is possible.
