Little Richard Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5, 1932), known as Little Richard, is an American recording artist, singer-songwriter and actor. A pop music and culture icon, Little Richard's most-celebrated work dates from the mid-1950s when his dynamic music and charismatic showmanship presaged the rise of rock and roll. His music influenced many other popular music genres, including soul, funk and hip hop and shaped generations of rhythm and blues artists. Little Richard has been honored by many institutions. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of its first group of inductees in 1986.
Frances Montresor Buchanan Allen Penniman and refinement. Such was the wealth and position of Mr. Wall, that he spared no expense in the education of his step-daughter, Penniman, who was sent to the capital of New England to complete her education. Penniman was 18 when Ethan Allen, liberated from the Tower of London, returned to his native State. "I should like," said Penniman, one evening in a mixed company in her step-father's parlor, "above all things to see this Mr. Allen, of whom we hear such incredible things." This saying reached the ears of Allen, who soon after paid a visit to the house of