3 ms·

Fans of Little Richard should look up Esquerita, who was a bit of a proto-Little-Richard :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esquerita https://en.wikipedia.org/wi

Fans of Little Richard should look up Esquerita, who was a bit of a proto-Little-Richard :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esquerita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esquerita

coldtea 6y ago
He couldn't be "proto-" Little Richard since his "first solo studio recordings came (...) around 1958". Little Richard was already doing pop in 1952, and had Tutti Frutti become a hit in 1955.
- 8bitsrule 6y ago
  Studio recording dates don't tell you much. "With a six-inch pompadour, brocaded shirts, rhinestone shades, and a rhythmic, belligerent style of piano playing, Esquerita was the original Little Richard, years before Mr. Penniman tutti-frutti'd his way to stardom. Working around the Dallas-New Orleans circuit in the early '50s... https://www.allmusic.com/artist/esquerita-mn0000198922/biography https://www.allmusic.com/artist/esquerita-mn0000198922/biogr... Sample Esquerita; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUF81FcZHMA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUF81FcZHMA
  - dang 6y ago
    Off-topic (sorry) - would you mind emailing hn@ycombinator.com? I'd like to invite a repost of a previous submission (a la https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20repost%20invite&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...)
    - 8bitsrule 6y ago
      1. I have two email addies- one I Never post online, one throwaway I check once a month to keep it alive. 2. Anything I post on HN is free (until the ads show up) 3. Love that Schulz quote. (What a sad story that is.)
yesenadam 6y ago
Wow, thank you, I'd never heard of him. "A bit of a proto-Little-Richard" seems a huge understatement. It seems Little Richard copied Esquerita's style. And Esquerita's look and sound on his youtube videos certainly supports that! e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUF81FcZHMA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUF81FcZHMA From that wikipedia page: "Reeder has been cited as a key early influence on Little Richard ... his look and style were in a very similar vein, although Esquerita was much more flamboyant in the 1950s and his music played more wildly than the contemporary music of Little Richard. Reeder did not record until after Little Richard's initial early 1950s recordings for the RCA and Peacock labels and the later hits on Specialty. However, early Little Richard recordings made at WGST Radio Station in Atlanta do not show the style that was to make him famous. According to Richard, Esquerita did influence him and taught him to play the piano. In an interview...in 1988...Richard states that he saw Esquerita getting off a bus at the Macon, GA Greyhound bus station, but doesn't say which year, presumably in the early 1950s. There's a hint of a sexual connection between the two, but Richard also states that he was inspired by Reeder, and moreover, Reeder was inspired by Richard to go into show business. Little Richard also had not intended to use what came to be his (and Esquerita's) characteristic style during his first New Orleans session for Specialty Records. The session producer, Robert "Bumps" Blackwell had been unhappy with Penniman's initial songs on the session, so, taking a break from recording, he went with Richard to a local cafe, where Richard jumped on a piano and began singing an X-rated version of "Tutti Frutti", in true Esquerita fashion. Blackwell felt that a cleaned-up version of the song with the same style of presentation would be just what his boss Art Rupe was looking for, and this song launched Little Richard's career in 1955.

Fans of Little Richard should look up Esquerita, who was a bit of a proto-Little-Richard :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esquerita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esquerita

coldtea 6y ago

He couldn't be "proto-" Little Richard since his "first solo studio recordings came (...) around 1958". Little Richard was already doing pop in 1952, and had Tutti Frutti become a hit in 1955.

8bitsrule 6y ago
Studio recording dates don't tell you much. "With a six-inch pompadour, brocaded shirts, rhinestone shades, and a rhythmic, belligerent style of piano playing, Esquerita was the original Little Richard, years before Mr. Penniman tutti-frutti'd his way to stardom. Working around the Dallas-New Orleans circuit in the early '50s... https://www.allmusic.com/artist/esquerita-mn0000198922/biography https://www.allmusic.com/artist/esquerita-mn0000198922/biogr... Sample Esquerita; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUF81FcZHMA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUF81FcZHMA
- dang 6y ago
  Off-topic (sorry) - would you mind emailing hn@ycombinator.com? I'd like to invite a repost of a previous submission (a la https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20repost%20invite&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...)
  - 8bitsrule 6y ago
    1. I have two email addies- one I Never post online, one throwaway I check once a month to keep it alive. 2. Anything I post on HN is free (until the ads show up) 3. Love that Schulz quote. (What a sad story that is.)

yesenadam 6y ago

Wow, thank you, I'd never heard of him. "A bit of a proto-Little-Richard" seems a huge understatement. It seems Little Richard copied Esquerita's style. And Esquerita's look and sound on his youtube videos certainly supports that! e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUF81FcZHMA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUF81FcZHMA From that wikipedia page: "Reeder has been cited as a key early influence on Little Richard ... his look and style were in a very similar vein, although Esquerita was much more flamboyant in the 1950s and his music played more wildly than the contemporary music of Little Richard. Reeder did not record until after Little Richard's initial early 1950s recordings for the RCA and Peacock labels and the later hits on Specialty. However, early Little Richard recordings made at WGST Radio Station in Atlanta do not show the style that was to make him famous. According to Richard, Esquerita did influence him and taught him to play the piano. In an interview...in 1988...Richard states that he saw Esquerita getting off a bus at the Macon, GA Greyhound bus station, but doesn't say which year, presumably in the early 1950s. There's a hint of a sexual connection between the two, but Richard also states that he was inspired by Reeder, and moreover, Reeder was inspired by Richard to go into show business. Little Richard also had not intended to use what came to be his (and Esquerita's) characteristic style during his first New Orleans session for Specialty Records. The session producer, Robert "Bumps" Blackwell had been unhappy with Penniman's initial songs on the session, so, taking a break from recording, he went with Richard to a local cafe, where Richard jumped on a piano and began singing an X-rated version of "Tutti Frutti", in true Esquerita fashion. Blackwell felt that a cleaned-up version of the song with the same style of presentation would be just what his boss Art Rupe was looking for, and this song launched Little Richard's career in 1955.