12 May 2020 | 04:08am IST
Lil Richard who ignited big fires of Rock and roll leaves the world stage
Nadia Menezes; café@herald-goa.com
Good Golly Miss Molly, Little Richard is no more! And
the death, at age 87, of the legendary “rock and roll architect” has dampened
the tempo in music-mad Goa.
“No band’s rock-and-roll medley is complete without
Little Richard’s songs,” says Chrystal Farrell, lead female vocalist for the
band, A26.
As anyone who has ever attended a classic Goan
Catholic wedding will tell you, the live band plays different sets of
tempo-specific music, with the intention of raising the mood slowly to a
crescendo before calming it down again.
Little Richard’s, or rather Richard Wayne Penniman’s
Tutti Frutti, Whole Lot of Shakin Going On, Lucille and the good ol’ Good Golly
are among the hot favourites of wedding and dance ensembles.
“Little Richard was like a little wild fire,” Farrell
says fondly of the 1.77m-tall superstar’s energetic style of piano-playing and
shouted vocals.
Musician Paul ‘Paulie’ Fernandes, whose repertoire of
songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, includes several Little Richard covers,
including Slippin’ and Slidin’, says, “It doesn’t matter what age you are and
what function you attend—a wedding, party or dance—you will be dancing to music
that came out in the 60s and 70s and that are still just as popular.”
Recalling the musical contributions of not just Little
Richard, but other equally-influential American musicians of African origin,
such as Louis Armstrong and Chuck Berry, Fernandes says they were “like Goans
when it comes to having music in their blood”.
“Though 87 is a good age to live till, it is still a
great loss that Little Richard is no more. We’re thankful to him and all the
others for giving us such great music,” says Fernandes, whose Facebook live show
on May 24
th, the feast of Mary Help of Christians, will pay tribute
to some Little Richard covers.
Bassist Colin D’Cruz, in his soft-spoken witty style,
points out, “Not many musicians get to be called Little at the age of 87.”
Recalling that he played Little Richard’s music in the
80s “when the songs were chartbusters”, D’Cruz of
jazzgoa.com bemoans
that today’s younger generation may not even know of Little Richard since “all
they listen to is Electronic Dance Music”.
Tony Fernandes of band Tidal Wave offers his tribute:
“The legacy left behind by Little Richard is huge, inspiring and educational.
His voice, piano playing and stage charisma could make a believer out of
anyone. May he rock-n-roll with all the greats up there.”
