He'll be missed. In Mystery Train, Greil Marcus writes about Little Richard's antics on The Dick Cavett Show. His segment runs from about 1:00 to 1:07...but he interjects himself throughout, expounding on life, love, art, and his big toe (at 1:18, 1:37-1:40 and 1:51). Ten years or so before this appearance, he'd been on the top of the charts. Then he walked away from it...to go to seminary school. He returned to show business, guesting in Catalina Caper, which MST3K film critic, Tom Servo, surmised was done while "whacked out on goofballs". Goofballs or no, he could still rock. For my part, I caught on at some point in the 80s, after hearing "Tutti Frutti" a soundtrack. I bought a cheap cassette of his Greatest Hits at Woolworth's, not realizing until years later that it was from rerecordings, made in the 1960s for VeeJay. Normally, these are to be avoided, but not in this case. There is a murk and ragged feel...like Exile on Main...
I've been reading John Swedz book on Miles and it sounds like this whole period was pretty wild. A lot of different characters with differing problems and perspectives. We're so lucky the music came together as it did...I love these records!
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