Little Richard's Real Name: Richard Wayne Penniman

Quick answer: The singer and pianist was known professionally as Little Richard. AllMusic, a BBC News report, and a Guardian obituary all record the name Richard Wayne Penniman. AllMusic and the Guardian both give the birth date December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia, and the death date May 9, 2020. BBC News independently gives the same birth date and city, reports the death at age 87, and, like AllMusic, places the death in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Real name and early life

AllMusic's fact box lists the birth as December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia, and the alias Richard Wayne Penniman. Its biography says he was the third of twelve children. The Guardian independently records Richard Wayne Penniman, born in Macon, one of 12 children of Charles, a bricklayer, and Leva Mae Stewart, and its closing line gives 5 December 1932. BBC News independently says he was born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia, on 5 December 1932, and that he absorbed gospel music and New Orleans influences as he grew up.

Career highlights

AllMusic and the Guardian both describe his mid-1950s breakthrough on Specialty Records and name songs including "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally." BBC News independently names "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," and "Good Golly, Miss Molly," dating the last of those to 1958. AllMusic says Specialty released "Tutti Frutti" in October 1955, that nearly all of his biggest hits appeared in 1956 and 1957, and that he later recorded gospel albums, including King of the Gospel Singers (1962), as well as later secular albums. The Guardian independently describes the Specialty period in New Orleans, names the same early hits, and discusses his later movement between secular rock and gospel work. BBC News and AllMusic both record his 1986 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; BBC News says he was among the first group of inductees that year.

Death

AllMusic records his death on May 9, 2020, in Tullahoma, Tennessee, after bone cancer, at 87. BBC News, in a report dated 9 May 2020, independently said he died of bone cancer in Tullahoma, Tennessee, at 87, according to his family. The Guardian independently records the death date 9 May 2020 and the age 87, without naming Tullahoma or a cause in its closing line.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Little Richard or Richard Wayne Penniman are looking for the same singer and pianist. All three sources used here record the longer name.