"We Were Lucky to Have Him, and He Knew It"

"Of course, Richard Penniman's sonic impact was only part of his outrageous long-term cultural impact. An erotic wild man, a drag queen, with a pencil moustache and pancake makeup, he had no predecessors; no one was about to confuse him with Dickie Valentine. Think how far beyond description Prince and Bowie seemed at their point of breakthrough, then think how Richard Penniman was doing much the same–and with greater extravagance–two to three decades earlier."

Upon Little Richard's death, Bob Stanley writes an appreciation at The Guardian.