Heeby Jeebies!

Amongst many sad losses this year, we lost one of the original architects of rock 'n roll, Little Richard. I'm pretty sure the word flamboyant was invented to describe him, with his teased-to-heaven pompadour, thick pancake make-up, and sequined duds complementing his bludgeoning piano style and powerful vocals. 

But who could expect anything less from a man who began touring with medicine shows as a teenager? The leader of one of them, Doctor Nubillo, taught Little Richard the importance of capes and turbans, and also prophesied that Little Richard was going to be famous. Probably didn't need to be clairvoyant to guess that, but I wouldn't argue with anyone who carries a big black stick and shows off a desiccated sideshow wonder called "the devil's child." Little Richard also performed in drag around this time, as his alter ego Princess LaVonne. Clearly he was a born mold-breaker, so it's no surprise that just a few years later in 1955 he unleashed his career-defining and genre-shaping hit "Tutti Frutti" on the world.

Little Richard would of course release many more hits after that, and would in turn influence pretty much every rock 'n roll performer who appeared in his wake. A few times over his decades-long career he left the music business to pursue his religious convictions, or would record only gospel songs, but eventually he was always drawn back to the wild, uninhibited style of secular music he had created. 

Numerous appearances in movies and TV shows helped solidify him as an American icon, and a few years ago we heard the theme song he recorded for the 1995 film Casper. While that might be the most Halloween-themed of Little Richard's songs, his 1958 song "Heeby Jeebies" also serves our purposes. A bad luck baby has put a jinx on him, so he's going to ring her door till he breaks her bell. Not to mention that piano! 

Rock in peace, Little Richard. You are missed.