Earlier this month we mourned the loss of rock and roll trailblazer Little Richard, who passed away after a battle with bone cancer. He was 87-years-old.
A statue of the rock and roll icon is set to be erected outside the musician’s childhood home in Macon, Georgia.
The statue was organised by Friends of the Little Richard House and the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. Who started a fund to pay for the statue, in addition to a replica of the musician’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Proceeds from the fund will also be used to “support organizations that provide music education to low- and moderate-income students across Bibb County and Middle Georgia”.
“Little Richard’s contribution to music as a whole, to all the genres of music, was monumental and very instrumental in a lot of people’s careers,” commented Antonio Williams, a Friends of the Little Richard House board member.
Organisers hope that the statue will be installed by December 5th, to commemorate the musician’s birthday.
The founding father of rock and roll’s death was confirmed in a statement by Richard’s former agent Alen, on May 9th.
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“Little Richard passed away this morning from bone cancer in Nashville. He was living with his brother in Nashville,” Alen shared. “He was battling for a good while, many years. I last spoke to him about two or three weeks ago. I knew he wasn’t well but he never really got into it, he just would say, ‘I’m not well.’ He’s been suffering for many years with various aches and pains. He just wouldn’t talk about it much.”
The legacy of Little Richard reverberates throughout music history. His songs were covered by contemporaries like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Bill Haley. Whilst a generation of young British musicians—the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, and Lemmy Kilmister, —cited Little Richard as a profound influence.
“Little Richard always says ‘Paul…you know, I taught you everything that you know.’ I say, ‘That’s right, Richard, it’s true,’” McCartney revealed in a 2001 interview with CNN.
Check out ‘Tutti Frutti’ by Little Richard:
