Paul McCartney has written a touching tribute to Little Richard – Variety

Paul McCartney said he learned “everything he knows” from Little Richard to pay tribute to the late rock legend posted on social media in the early hours of the morning. Richard shared the stage with the Beatles early in his career and whose songs were widely covered by the group, died of cancer at the age of 7 on Saturday.

“From ‘Tutti Frutti’ to ‘Long Tall Sally’ to ‘Good Alley, from Miss Molly’ to ‘Luchili’, Little Richard cried when I was a teenager in my life,” McCartney wrote. “I have a lot to do with Little Richard and his style; And he knew it. He would say, ‘I have taught Paul everything I know. I had to admit that he was OK. ‘

The young Beatles performed with Richard on a show at one of their long residences at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, where the group really learned their craft.

“In the early days of the Beatles, we played with Richard of Hamburg and got to know him,” McCartney wrote. “He would let us hang out in his dressing room and we witnessed his pre-show, with his head resting on a towel under a bowl of hot water. He would suddenly look in the mirror and say, ‘I can’t make it beautiful, because I’m so beautiful.’

The Beatles’ Richard classics include “Long, Long Sally,” “Lucille,” and “Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!” – Almost always sung by McCartney. And he paid homage to the singer in 1965 with a clear expression of “I landed”, in which one could argue that Little Richard is the best Little Richard song he has ever composed.

McCartney concluded, “A great man, with a wonderful feeling and the rock and roll community and much more. He will be missed by someone.” A wap-bop-a-lu-bop.

On Saturday, musicians and the public paid tribute to Richard, from Mick Jagger and Michelle Obama to Spike Lee and Bob Dylan.