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It's Been a Minute

Rock and roll's pioneer is a queer, Southern Black man

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.68.8K Ratings

🗓️ 12 September 2023

⏱️ 26 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When you think of rockstar royalty, a queer, Southern Black man normally doesn't come to mind. But director Lisa Cortés wants us all to reconsider that thought. Her documentary, Little Richard: I Am Everything, takes viewers through the life and legacy of one of the most influential men in music - Little Richard.

From the bawdy roots of his hit song, "Tutti Frutti," to teaching Mick Jagger how to work a crowd, Little Richard's impact spans generations. Host Brittany Luse and director Lisa Cortes talk about the documentary, Little Richard's struggles with own identity, and the queer influence on rock and roll.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hacker's pulled off the largest crypto heist in history.

0:04.0

$600 million. I mean, I was jaw-dropping. That's a huge amount of money.

0:08.7

The race to track down the stolen money led the investigators and the FBI around the globe.

0:13.4

When you're dealing with hacking groups that have an army of cyber criminals you're in for a long fight.

0:20.4

A classic who'd on it and how from planet money on NPR.

0:24.6

Hey, y'all, you're listening to it's been a minute from NPR. I'm Brittany Loose.

0:32.6

In stand discussions, there's a lot of talk about icons and legends, but there's no higher praise

0:38.8

than your favorite artist's favorite artist. There are only a few names in a category like this.

0:45.5

Michael Jackson, Madonna, James Brown, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones.

0:50.4

But there's one artist, a rock star in fact, who inspired all of those artists and in turn,

0:56.8

the artists after them. His name is a little richer, but his impact is anything but little.

1:03.3

That's Lisa Cortez, director of Little Richard. I am everything. The documentary recounts

1:09.6

Little Richard's life in his own words and he was never shy about letting people know who he was.

1:15.8

I'm not convinced. But as proud as he was, he was also in deep conflict. With the

1:24.6

conventional post-war culture he found success in and himself. As a queer black man who encouraged

1:31.1

young fans to break the norms, he often struggled with his own identity.

1:36.0

The idea of a flamboyant Southern black man as a rock and roll pioneer may seem at odds

1:48.9

with the now stereotypical idea of the white guy rock star. But when Little Richard passed away

1:54.4

in 2020, artists like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and more named him as an inspiration.

2:01.0

We would not have a little Nas X or a Harry Styles if there wasn't the Little Richard DNA,

2:11.5

the stardust that he kind of spread on everyone.

2:16.2

The costumes, the performance, the sound of Little Richard, echoes from Elvis Presley to

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