Queer Rock’N’Roll Icon Little Richard Has Passed Away

Rock’n’roll icon Little Richard has died at the age of 87. Although his cause of death has not yet been revealed, he had been suffering from many different health issues, according to ‘Gay Times’.

Little Richard rose to fame in the 1950s and his work inspired artists like David Bowie and The Beatles. He had a complicated history with his sexuality, with his identifying as gay, bisexual, and omnisexual in different periods of his life. Nonetheless, he was the first black gay man in Rock'n'roll, serving as a role model to both the LGBT+ and BAME community with his achievements, and continued to write and perform award-winning songs well up until last year. His impact was sizeable, being seen across popculture, from his portrayal by Kennedy Davenport in the Snatch Game on Season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race all the way to the biographical film about his life. He worked with some of the big names of the genre, includng Jimi Hendrix, Canned Heat, and Jerry Lee Lewis to name but a few: those he didn't work with were inspired by him nonetheless to push the genre forward.

Later in his life, as a born again Christian, he would go on to be critical of both homosexuality and being trans, calling being gay an “unnatural affection”. “Anybody come in show business, they’re going to say you’re gay. Are you straight? Are you a homosexual something? They’re going to say it,” Little Richard said during a sit down with 3ABN.

“But God, Jesus, he made men, men, he made women, women, you know? And you’ve got to live the way God wants you to live.”

Different well-known artists paid tribute to the late icon.

Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones said: “Little Richard drove the whole house into a complete frenzy. There is no single phrase to describe his hold on the audience.”

Brian Wilson, from the Beach Boys, wrote on Twitter: “I’m very sorry to hear about Little Richard. He was there at the beginning and showed us all how to rock and roll.

“He was a such a great talent and will be missed. Little Richard’s music will last forever.”

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