"The architect of rock and roll," as he calls himself, Little Richard has been swinging to the beats of rock ‘n' roll since the fifties.

Born Richard Wayne Penniman, he was one of 12 children that grew up in a devout Seventh-Day Adventist church family. After singing gospel and playing the piano in church, his father, who sold bootleg whiskey, and mother, kicked him out of the house. Penniman moved with Ann and Johnny Johnson, a white family, who ran Macon's Tick Tock Club. It was there that Penniman first started to perform.

In 1951 he won a contract with RCA after playing at an Atlanta radio station. His first few singles were extremely conventional, and it wasn't until 1955 when he was persuaded by a friend to send a demo tape to Art Rupe of Specialty Records in Los Angeles that his hard-edged sound appeared. One of the first songs he recorded was "Tutti Frutti" that showcased Penniman's infamous whoops and hollers. The single did well for a black singer, selling over three million copies by 1968.

In 1957 Penniman had a revelation and decided to take a break from the music business. He entered Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama and earned a BA. In 1959 he recorded a religious album, God is Real. After a failed attempt to secure a large following with his religious work, he returned to rock and roll in 1964. He launched tons of hit singles up into the ‘70s, when he again started to renounce rock ‘n' roll, drugs and his homosexuality.

He made yet another comeback in the mid-‘80s, appearing on several Hollywood films and television series. He has seen more success now with his rock-rap versions of children's songs, like "Itsy Bitsy Spider." Penniman continues to tour and surprise the world with his unpredictable behavior.