Little Richard (1932–2020) was a pioneering American musician, singer, and songwriter who played a crucial role in the development of rock and roll music. Known for his flamboyant stage presence and energetic performances, he earned the titles “The Innovator, The Originator, and The Architect of Rock and Roll.” His hits in the 1950s, such as “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally,” showcased his distinctive vocal style and dynamic piano playing, influencing generations of musicians. Little Richard’s impact on popular music extended far beyond his own recordings; his songs were covered by numerous artists, and his influence reverberated throughout the genre. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, he remains a celebrated figure in music history, recognized for his contributions to shaping the sound and culture of rock and roll.

Little Richard Quotes

1. “I am the innovator. I am the originator. I am the emancipator. I am the architect of rock ‘n’ roll!”
— Little Richard

2. “God is omnipotent, He is omniscient, and He is ever present.”
— Little Richard

3. “I thank God for Elvis Presley. I thank the Lord for sending Elvis to open the door so I could walk down the road…”
— Little Richard

4. “We’re gonna have some fun tonight.”
— Little Richard

5. “It was a way out of poverty. It was a way to success. It was a way to education. And it was a way to a brighter day for me.”
— Little Richard

6. “I thank God for making me a man.”
— Little Richard

7. “Elvis may be the King of Rock and Roll, but I am the Queen.”
— Little Richard

8. “It’s not the size of the ship; it’s the size of the waves.”
— Little Richard

9. “I think people who don’t believe in God are crazy. How can you say there is no God when you hear the birds singing these beautiful songs you didn’t make?”
— Little Richard

10. “But men are so full of greed today, they’ll sell anything for a little piece of money.”
— Little Richard

11. “I only wore makeup when I went onstage.”
— Little Richard

12. “I also think that what’s wrong with all of us is that we don’t show enough love toward each other.”
— Little Richard

13. “I got a girl named Bony Maronie, she’s as skinny as a stick of macaroni.”
— Little Richard

14. “That’s what Tina Turner did, too – sang blues up-tempo – and they called it rock ‘n’ roll.”
— Little Richard

15. “Greed has taken the whole universe, and nobody is worried about their soul.”
— Little Richard

16. “Black people lived right by the railroad tracks, and the train would shake their houses at night. I would hear it as a boy, and I thought: I’m gonna make a song that sounds like that.”
— Little Richard

17. “And I’d like to give my love to everybody, and let them know that the grass may look greener on the other side, but believe me, it’s just as hard to cut.”
— Little Richard

18. “They shoulda called me Little Cocaine, I was sniffing so much of the stuff! My nose got big enough to back a diesel truck in, unload it, and drive it right out again.”
— Little Richard

19. “Rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t glorify God. You can’t drink out of God’s cup and the devil’s cup at the same time. I was one of the pioneers of that music, one of the builders. I know what the blocks are made of because I built them.”
— Little Richard

20. “I decided to come back and teach goodness in this business. To teach love, because music is the universal language. We are God’s bouquet, and through music we become one.”
— Little Richard

21. “Gay people are the sweetest, kindest, most artistic, warmest and most thoughtful people in the world. And since the beginning of time all they’ve ever been is kicked.”
— Little Richard

22. “I think God made a woman to be strong and not to be trampled under the feet of men. I’ve always felt this way because my mother was a very strong woman, without a husband.”
— Little Richard

23. “When you sit down and think about what rock ‘n’ roll music really is, then you have to change that question. Played up-tempo, you call it rock ‘n’ roll; at a regular tempo, you call it rhythm and blues.”
— Little Richard

24. “I don’t give the devil credit for creating nothing.”
— Little Richard

25. “I love God, and I’m a follower.”
— Little Richard

26. “I try to be a guide for people, to make their darkness bright and to make the pathway light, and never to condemn or control or criticize.”
— Little Richard

27. “And I don’t get down on nobody else for doing whatever else they do. To each his own.”
— Little Richard

28. “I’m very much a gentleman in what I do.”
— Little Richard

29. “I did what I felt, and I felt what I did, at all costs.”
— Little Richard

30. “I think they saw me as something like a deliverer, a way out. My means of expression, my music, was a way in which a lot of people wished they could express themselves and couldn’t.”
— Little Richard

31. “I don’t think that you have to be effeminate to be sensitive.”
— Little Richard

32. “I just want the world to know that God is present, that he’s alive for ever more.”
— Little Richard

33. “I would wear flamboyant clothes and long hair, and most singers at the time didn’t.”
— Little Richard

34. “Plus I love Tanya Tucker and I love country music.”
— Little Richard

35. “Rock ‘n’ roll offered me a platform to speak what I felt. It also offered me a platform to support my mama and my brothers and sisters – twelve children.”
— Little Richard

36. “I got fame and fortune, and I lost my sense of reasoning.”
— Little Richard

37. “I was really kind of shy as a child. But I would do things for attention.”
— Little Richard

38. “I saw Uncle John with Long Tall Sally, he saw Aunt Mary coming and he ducked back in the alley.”
— Little Richard

39. “A-bop-bop-a-loom-op-a-lop-bop-boom.”
— Little Richard

40. “And I think a woman should find it a joy to be female because God made both male and female.”
— Little Richard

41. “God gives us the ability, but rock ‘n’ roll was created by men.”
— Little Richard

42. “I also like the banging piano – that old good-time piano.”
— Little Richard

43. “I tried to look presentable for a show, but not for sexual attraction. It was strictly for show business.”
— Little Richard

44. “I came from a family where my people didn’t like rhythm and blues. Bing Crosby – “Pennies from Heaven” – Ella Fitzgerald, was all I heard.”
— Little Richard

45. “Now they have banging guitar and no bass and call it rock, but that’s not what I call rock.”
— Little Richard

46. “I gave up rock ‘n’ roll for the rock of ages! I used to be a glaring homosexual until God changed me!”
— Little Richard

47. “Like, my mother would have company over, and I would sing so they’d pay attention to me.”
— Little Richard

48. “I don’t think a woman has to act like a man to show that she has strength.”
— Little Richard

49. “But I was singing loud, and most singers weren’t singing loud.”
— Little Richard

50. “No, I’ve never truly been a minister.”
— Little Richard

51. “I’ve never seen the devil create music.”
— Little Richard

52. “But when I went on the stage to do a show, I would put on makeup because I felt that it enhanced my act; it drew attention to what I was doing.”
— Little Richard

53. “I never accepted the idea that I had to be guided by some pattern or blueprint.”
— Little Richard

54. “I never heard nobody in my audience call me any kind of names.”
— Little Richard

55. “I didn’t know that homosexuality was wrong until I read it in the Bible.”
— Little Richard

56. “A lot of songs I sang to crowds to get their reaction. That’s how I knew they’d hit.”
— Little Richard

57. “I always knew I was a man, always felt that I was a man, always wanted to be a man.”
— Little Richard

58. “I think that a man should be caring.”
— Little Richard

59. “It’s hard to have a friend when your name’s a household word.”
— Little Richard

60. “I’m not conceited – I’m convinced.”
— Little Richard

61. “I let people know that it was all right to do the kinds of things I did.”
— Little Richard

62. “But I’m a rock ‘n’ roll singer; that’s my livelihood, my occupation.”
— Little Richard

63. “I’m a conductor of revivals. The only minister in the whole package. Little Richard, the evangelist.”
— Little Richard

64. “To me, true rock ‘n’ roll has a lot of bottom in it.”
— Little Richard