Review:
"Little Richard:
I Am Everything"
Release Date: April 11, 2023
Rating: Not Rated Running Time: 98 minutes Little Richard knew his place in rock ‘n’ roll history. “I am the innovator. I am the originator. I am the emancipator. I am the architect of rock ‘n’ roll,” the incomparable showman born Richard Wayne Penniman famously once declared. And, when Little Richard died in 2020, he went to his grave as the true King of Rock ‘N’ Roll, no offense to Elvis Presley. But Little Richard fought a life-long battle for this recognition despite helping to create inventing rock ‘n’ roll alongside Chuck Berry. In interview after interview, speech after speech, Little Richard would remind anyone who listened that he was there at the advent of rock ‘n’ roll, that rock ‘n’ roll would not be rock ‘n’ roll as we know it were it not for his joyfully frenetic piano playing and such rousing hits as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Jenny, Jenny,” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly.” The slight Little Richard felt for decades fuels director Lisa Cortés’ Little Richard: I Am Everything, an empathetic documentary that premiered locally at this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival, receives a special one-night theatrical screening tonight, and is available for digital and VOD viewing beginning April 21. Cortés reaffirms what anyone familiar with the history of the early years of rock ‘n’ roll knows, that its black pioneers—including Little Richard—were pushed to sidelines for the white artists who followed and copied them. As Cortés notes, Pat Boone—who covered many songs written by or originally recorded by black rock ‘n’ rollers—sold more copies of his sanitized version “Tutti Frutti” than Little Richard. “Black music is the wellspring of American popular music but at the same time these are industries and societies that very often do not value black creator or want the blackness toned down,” ethnomusicology professor Fredara Hadley says. Bearing this in mind, much of Little Richard: I Am Everything delves into the racial politics of the 1950s and the 1960s that Little Richard had to contend with in his bid to overcome his humble beginnings in Macon, GA., as well as being “queer and femme and disabled,” per scholar Jason King. And overcome he did. His originality, dynamism, and charisma could not be denied, allowing him to crossover to a white teenage audience that sought an outlet for their rebellious behavior and sexual energy during the post-war year. “Little Richard is danger. Little Richard is somebody who represented a complete upheaval of the existing social system. He was singing about sex. He was singing about graphic sex at a time you weren’t allowed to talk about a graphic way you could today so you had to code it,” scholar Jason King says. Sex, of course, played a prominent role in Little Richard’s life and career, and this is where the documentary is at its most intriguing. Those who performed and/or toured with Little Richard remember him as much for his post-show orgies as they do his impromptu prayer circles. And that apparent contradiction informed much of Little Richard’s life. Little Richard initially embraced his homosexuality—it was very much of an open secret in the 1950s—and happily blurred gender lines as a performer. But as his religious faith grew stronger, he struggled with his sexuality. The documentary does not let Little Richard off the hook for his renouncement of homosexuality. “I feel he betrayed gay people by saying he’s not but I do understand. You’re not strong enough to take it,” says Sir Lady Java, a transgender performer and activist who enjoyed a close friendship with Little Richard. At times, he also abandoned his rock ‘n’ roll career for spiritual pursuits, such as recording gospel albums and selling bibles. And he apparently spent his final days telling friends and family to get right with God. Little Richard: I Am Everything director Lisa Cortés employs archive footage of Little Richard discussing his faith and sexuality, among other subjects relevant to his life and career. Cortés did not have access to Little Richard as she started work on the documentary after his 2020 death at age 87. It certainly hurts the documentary to some extent that Little Richard does not speak on his own behalf. It would have been fascinating to hear Little Richard ruminate at such a late age on his life choices—especially on his relationship with the LGBTQ+ community—and a recording career that spanned decades and influenced such bands as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones (and even inspired fan John Waters to adopt as his own Little Richards-trademark pencil-thin mustache). But despite Little Richard’s absence, the documentary vividly dissects his irrefutable importance to rock ‘n’ roll, the adversity he faced as black man and performer, and the inner demons he wrestled with as an adult torn between his faith and sexuality. “As the progenitor, we must understand what kind of spirit he was and how this thing tore him asunder at times.” scholar Zandria Robinson says. Even without Little Richard’s direct testimony, Little Richard: I Am Everything offers a vivid portrait of The Originator as both man and rock ‘n’ roll star. Robert Sims Aired: April 11, 2023. Web sites: https://www.littlericharddocumentary.com/ |
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