{"id":807271,"date":"2020-05-09T11:04:30","date_gmt":"2020-05-09T17:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=996757"},"modified":"2020-05-09T11:04:30","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T17:04:30","slug":"mick-jagger-pays-tribute-to-biggest-inspiration-little-richard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/mick-jagger-pays-tribute-to-biggest-inspiration-little-richard\/","title":{"rendered":"Mick Jagger Pays Tribute to \u2018Biggest Inspiration\u2019 Little Richard"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mick Jagger<\/a> paid tribute to rock pioneer Little Richard<\/a> Saturday following news of the icon\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so saddened to hear about the passing of Little Richard,\u201d Mick Jagger wrote in a statement<\/a>, \u201che 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 50\u2019s.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Rolling Stones<\/a> embarked on their first tour in 1963, the band recruited many of the artists that inspired them, including Little Richard, to join them on the trek.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Jagger continued. \u201cHe contributed so much to popular music I will miss you Richard, God bless.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Keith Richards added in a statement, \u201cSo sad to hear that my old friend Little Richard has passed. There will never be another. He was the true spirit of Rock\u2019n Roll.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2019s 2004 issue \u201cThe Immortals,\u201d recognizing the 100 greatest artists of all time, Little Richard wrote about his own legacy<\/a>, including inspiring many of the bands \u2014 like the Stones \u2014 ranked ahead of him on the list.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate being picked one of the top fifty performers, but who is number one and who is number two doesn\u2019t matter to me anymore,\u201d Little Richard wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it won\u2019t be who I think it should be \u2014 it\u2019s not going to ever be any of the entertainers from the past. The Rolling Stones started with me, but they\u2019re going to always be in front of me. The Beatles started with me \u2014 at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, before they ever made a record \u2014 but they\u2019re going to always be in front of me. James Brown, Jimi Hendrix \u2014 these people started with me. I fed them, I talked to them, and they\u2019re going to always be in front of me. But it\u2019s a joy just to still be here, to have stood the test of time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Little Richard was also on hand when the Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989:<\/span><\/p>\n