Legendary performer LITTLE RICHARD died of bone cancer on Saturday. He was 87.
His agent said that he last spoke to him two or three weeks ago, but they didn't really talk about his health. Quote, "He'd just say 'I'm not well.' He's been suffering for many years with various aches and pains. He just wouldn't talk about it much."
Little Richard quickly rose to fame in the 1950s, and was known for his very energetic performances behind the piano. His biggest hits included "Tutti Frutti", "Long Tall Sally", and "Good Golly, Miss Molly".
His career lasted well over 50 years, although he took a few breaks for health and religious reasons. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and he continued performing until 2016.
Little Richard was very influential, so it's not surprising that a lot of big name musicians have paid tribute to him. Here are a few:
Mick Jagger: "[Little Richard] was the biggest inspiration of my early teens, and his music still has the same raw electric energy when you play it now as it did when it first shot through the music scene in the mid-'50s . . .
"When we were on tour with him, I would watch his moves every night and learn from him how to entertain and involve the audience and he was always so generous with advice to me."
Bob Dylan: "I'm so grieved. He was my shining star and guiding light back when I was only a little boy. His was the original spirit that moved me to do everything I would do."
Brian Wilson: "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."
Jimmy Page: "It's Little Richard's songs that pioneered rock 'n' roll. I got to hear him and his band at the Newport Lounge in Miami, and boy were they good."
Paul McCartney: "I owe a lot of what I do to Little Richard and his style, and he knew it. He would say, 'I taught Paul everything he knows.' I had to admit he was right."
Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band: "R.I.P. Little Richard, the man who invented rock 'n' roll. Elvis [Presley] popularized it. Chuck Berry was the storyteller. Richard was the archetype."
We also found this terrific Geico spot from 2007. It's one of those "celebrity translation" commercials where the real Geico customer describes her Thanksgiving night car accident, and then Little Richard translates the events as only Little Richard could.