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Comment by talentedcoin | Hacker News Reader

Little Richard was a true legend — there will never be another like him. I always can’t help thinking of this hilariously bonkers piece by John Waters about interviewing him:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/nov/28/john-waters-me...

“I was in this hotel and I had a Chrysler my mother had mortgaged her home to get me. I went into the studio anyway, and they had me singing like Ray Charles, BB King. They wanted me to sing the blues and that was not me. I got on the piano and started singing: 'Woooooo!' They said: 'Oh boy, where did you get that voice?' 'A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-wop-bam-boom!' and they said: 'That's a hit'… and the rest is history.”

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I also enjoyed the short piece he wrote about himself for Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Artists Ever" list[0]. Oddly, he seems to be the only artist who wrote his own blurb, and his bitterness is palpable, but it's a fascinating perspective on what it must be like to look back on an incredibly influential life feeling like you didn't get appropriately rewarded.

[0] https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-greatest-...

Clearly thinks he didn't get his due but he doesn't spend any time talking about the artists that inspired him.

Bonkers indeed. An interesting point of comparison is this "interview" with Prince, written over the course of months by the writer tapped to write his memoirs [1]. It seems that Prince and Little Richard both had an extravagant overflowing creative instinct that just...dazzled people. As someone whose personality tacks way more toward clear and consistent structured logic, it's interesting to see.

[1] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/09/the-book-of-pr...

Having watched a few videos of tutti frutti I can smell that Prince loved Little Richard to bits.. there's an subtle yet uncanny similarity in stance and rawness.

Having known people like this, I think it moves beyond instinct. They definitely have a more finely-tuned inborn sense of themselves and other people, for sure. But they also have developed a calculated and astute sense for what part of themselves to present to people provoke a particular emotional or behavioral response, and also the courage to present those parts (in Prince's case, occasionally quite literally and physically) when need be.

Absolutely. I think we're all guilty of looking at famous people and believing they were born that way.

When in reality, as with everyone, the majority worked their asses off and honed their craft.

That it seemed effortless is a testiment to their practice, not their innate nature.

Dazzled is the perfect word for it.

Thanks for the link also

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