New York (AFP)

Little Richard, one of the American pioneers of rock and roll, known for his catchy hymns like "Tutti Frutti" or "Long Tall Sally" and his frenzied presence on stage, died Saturday at the age of 87, confirmed to l 'AFP the reverend Bill Minson, close friend of the singer.

The American music legend died of cancer, he said.

Little Richard, Richard Wayne Penniman of his real name, sealed with "Tutti Frutti", planetary tube remained in all memories thanks to his intro "Awop bop a loo mop / Alop bam boom", the advent of an era.

Coming from R&B, he allowed in the 1950s, like other black artists like Chuck Berry or Fats Domino, the emergence of a new genre, rock and roll.

But much more than these two relatively wise contemporaries, Little Richard helped give rock and roll an air of scandal, with his garish shirts like no man wore then, his 15 cm high banana hairstyle, and his mustache as fine as a pencil line.

- "A real giant" -

The lyrics to "Tutti Frutti" (1955), which in a first version made reference to sex between men, had been watered down to the radio.

But in post-World War II America, shaped like a conservative white middle class, the style of this "showman", who described himself as "omni-sexual" and had been chased from his home in the by his father due to his overly effeminate style, was astonishing.

His orgies in hotel rooms in the 1960s have remained famous.

His music has inspired legendary artists such as the Beatles (who accompanied him for a time in concert), David Bowie, Elton John or the Rolling Stones, who have not failed to pay tribute to him throughout their careers.

Jimmy Page, guitarist for Led Zeppelin, hailed Saturday "a very sad loss". "It was Little Richard's songs that shaped rock and roll," he said.

Nile Rodgers, of the funk-pop Chic group, spoke to him "the loss of a real giant".

Pianist, singer and composer, Little Richard was among the first artists to be introduced to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the American pantheon of rock and popular culture, alongside other founders of the genre such as Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis. in 1986.

He was born December 5, 1932, in the city of Macon, Georgia, in a southern United States still very segregated, conservative and religious.

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