Little Richard remembers Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich – Variety

I was – God, do I have to accept it? – About 13 when I first heard Little Richard. In 1956 or ’57 there were two such people: him and Jerry Lee Lewis. I saw Elvis Presley in “Ed Sullivan”, but I have more fond memories of seeing Jerry Lee or Richard for the first time, because they were wild. Elvis moved her hips, but with [Richard and Lewis], The hairs flew and the fingers flew and the body language flashed.

It was the hatred of our parents, so it made it even more dangerous, and part of it was probably because he was African American. I really wanted to play the piano like Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. I knew I couldn’t, but I spent a lot of time. It wasn’t hard to play what they played, but it was impossible to play the way they played.

For the 25th Grammy of 1983, I got Little Richard, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis and Count Basie together on the piano. It was a dream come true. But that was the time [Little Richard’s] Gospel period. It all started with a phrase titled “What shall I say”. Count Bessie sang, “Look at the eagle with the diamond ring / he knows how to move this thing.” Jerry Lee sang, “Look at the girl in the red dress / Stay up all night in Berlusconi”

And then for his own song, he did “I got Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy (Down in My Heart)”. Richard never hit. There was a showdown: “Why, I can’t do it. You want me to show it? I’ll sing the Lord’s music, not Satan’s music” “and I bought it. Is there a problem with anyone? No. If you have that lineup – it’s Masha Rushmore; It really is.

For the 2007 Grammys, she sang “Good Alley Miss Molly” with Jerry Lee in a medal that helped keep my friend John Fogarty together. The whole idea was for them to be able to play together, but it was still very competitive between them. They were very cool with each other when we first started the exercise and then there was a kind of warmth. Still, they played away from each other!

You saw Richard in front of you just as he was in front of the people. But despite the edge of his personality, every time we worked together, he was just beautiful.

As Chris Willman said

Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Little Richard ৮ bone died of bone cancer in May. For the past 40 years, Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich has regarded her as his young protagonist, and the singer has won several awards.