Little Richard shatter racial divisions in the music industry. Little Richard was born Richard Wayne Penniman on December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia. He was the third of twelve children of Leva Mae (née Stewart) and Charles "Bud" Penniman. His father was a church deacon who sold bootlegged moonshine on the side and owned a nightclub, the Tip In Inn. His mother was a member of Macon's New Hope Baptist Church. Initially, Little Richard's first name was supposed to have been "Ricardo" but an error resulted in "Richard" instead. The Penniman children were raised in a neighborhood of Macon called Pleasant Hill.
John Wayne Parr Blair helped promote Wayne at Jupiters Casino for 3 fights before he fought for the South Pacific title against Scott Lovelock, winning by 5th-round KO when Parr was 19. During his first career in Australia, he won some regional titles including one from the WKA. At the age of 19, Parr met Richard Vell who was owner of one of an esteemed Muay Thai restaurant in Australia - Boonchu Thai food. Richard and Wayne developed a father and son relationship, and after a few years together Richard sponsored Wayne to train in Thailand. In 1996 Parr moved to Thailand, living