Sorry this was going to be a ridiculous post .. about something else post at first. Please hit play if you have not heard this man sing!
And I am going to keep playing it all night. I did not know. It was a few days ago. I am going to listen to this all night in his honor. I hope you don’t mind. I just can’t. Sorry, late to know.
See you tomorrow.
Sorry, I just found out. He’s a Georgia boy. I am not good at saying “was” right now. Little Richard was from Macon, Georgia. This is a hard one for me he was the architect of rock. And he was funny and talented and I am so said to hear this. This is Prince dying bad for me.
Show me the stairway that I have to climb….
I can’t take this…
My friend in real life, Derrick Martin, played drums for Little Richard for 17 years, starting at about 18 or 19 years old. He posted about his audition on Facebook the day after Little Richard died. It’s a great story. If I can find and copy it, can I share it here?
Please do I Am broken hearted ….
This is the post from Derrick Martin, Little Richard’s drummer for 17 years.
Sorry for the lack of paragraph breaks, but this is how he posted it.
“I’ve had a few requests to tell the story of how I became a member of Little Richard’s band, so here ya go!
It was 1995 and I was in my junior year at Jackson State University majoring in music education. I had sat out for a time after my sophomore year because all I really wanted to do was play music, make records, become rich and famous, you know the drill. I was a member of a really hot band called Infinity which was comprised of myself, Darryl Pete, Tommie “S’VON” Ringo, Gary Scott, Ezra Brown & Robert Lampkin. This unit was amazing! We played around town and were cutting out teeth as song writers and producers. The biggest gig in the city, at the time, was the Jubilee Jamn and man we wanted to get booked on that stage. Linda Jacobs worked for the festival and helped bring big named acts to the festival, one of which was Little Richard. Linda and I were extended family members and she really believed in me and our band. She offered to help us get gigs and offer advice and guidance. She developed a great relationship with Little Richard after he played the festival and they stayed in touch. One day they were having a conversation about his band and Richard was saying that he wanted go back to having two drummers like he did in years past and asked Linda if she knew of a young black drummer that could fill the seat. Well, wouldn’t you know it, she recommended me! So I’m home one morning and I get a call from Linda telling me that Little Richard was looking for a drummer and she gave me a number to call to inquire about the audition. So I called the number expecting to be speaking to a manager or some kind of representative, but low and behold, it was Little Richard himself! He seemed really nice and asked if I had his Specialty Records Greatest Hits record and I told him I didn’t but I could run to the record store to pick it up. He said ok go get it then call me back after you’ve listened to it. So I bought the record, listened and called him back. He asked if I could play this music and of course I said, “Yes sir!”. He said ok I’ll call you back this afternoon. This was on a Monday to Tuesday I think. Later that evening he called back and told me that he had booked me a ticket to fly to Los Angeles on Thursday. It was all set! I was excited and a bit afraid because I didn’t know what to expect but Linda Jacobs never wavered, she was so supportive and encouraging that it helped ease my nerves a bit. The next day I went to school to discuss this opportunity with my professors. Now keep in mind that leaving school for a gig was the cardinal sin but I felt like this was something I had to do and I trusted my teachers and I wanted to hear their input. Once I told them who it was, they all said you have to GO! You can’t miss out on this opportunity, just make sure you have a round trip ticket in case something goes wrong. So with that I was on my way.
On Thursday I arrived at LAX and Richard’s son Danny met me at baggage claim and escorted me outside to a stretch limo with Richard sitting inside. Man you should have seen my face! This was my first official limo ride! Upon first meeting him, I was taken aback by the enormity of his presence and personality, he was a STAR in every since of the word. He held court on the ride to the hotel and told me about himself and his humble begginings in Macon, Georgia. We arrived at the Hyatt on Sunset in West Hollywood and I checked in. This is where he lived! Yes! He lived in a hotel full time! He had the three corner rooms at the end of the third floor. Once we checked in, he took me out for dinner and asked about my family, my life and so forth. he was sizing me up I guess. I stayed for almost a week but we never talked about music or when I was to audition. He took me to a few shows at The House Of Blues, I attended church with him and ran errands. After about a week of this, he said that we were going to go the SIR rehearsal studios for my audition. But in what I would come to know as classic Little Richard fashion, we arrived to late to SIR and missed our time and had to reschedule. Legendary Upsetters guitarist, Roy Gaines, met us there and since we missed our slot, we went to his club on Crenshaw. We go inside and there’s a small stage with a honky tonk piano, guitar amps and an old, old drum set, I mean barely standing. So Richard and Roy began to tell stories and reminisce. During this time we are all sitting at our instruments and we just start to jam as they would tell stories about the good old days. Oh yeah, Charles Glenn was also there too. He was Richard’s bass player and he had played with Ozone, Billy Preston, Sammy Davis Jr. And Debarge, just to name a few. So we are just jamning on tunes, playing nothing but the blues. Now I’m not realizing that THIS is my actual audition. I’m super relaxed, cracking jokes with them and just being my crazy self, I mean wide open. After about an hour or so, Richard says ok I’m getting hungry, lets go. He looks at me and says, “Baby, that’s great! We open for The Temptations next week in Cerritos.” And of course I’m baffled. I asked him what just happened and Charles shakes my hand and says, “Welcome to the band!” I stop Richard and I’m like hey but we didn’t play any of your music. He then turns to me and says, “Baby you know how to play the blues, you have a good foot, a strong back beat and you love your momma I’ll teach you the rest.” I was blown away! He later explained to me that no one could come to his gig knowing what he wanted. He would always have to teach people what he wanted them to do. My true audition began the moment I stepped into the limo. He interacted with me for a week to be sure I was “teachable”. And this was just the beggining of a 17 year ride that taught me so much about everything. I became a man and a better musician under Richard’s watch but not just him, Wayne Chaney, Chalmers Davis, Jesse Boyce, John Helms, Kelvin Holly, Kenny Walker, Harvey Thompson, Charles Glenn, Mark Doyle, Mark Holland, Kenny Ford, Andre Swift, Big Jaye & Guy Higginbotham made up this amazing band and they all were selfless when it came to teaching and helping me grow. So this is the story of how I joined the Little Richard Band. May he Rest in Love & Peace.”
Derrick (D’Mar) Martin
I wanted to post a photo too, but not sure how to do it here. I’ll send it to you privately TT and you can share it if you choose.
Thanks so much for sharing this story.
Thank you so much for reading it and commenting! D’Mar is really a great person, very humble, talented, and smart. If you’re interested in blues music at all, he is now the drummer with Rick Estrin and the Nightcats, a multitalented band.
I still don’t have a straight up reply box.
I have music playing on my med cart every day, every genre…I played Lityle Richard all day the day after he passed. There was a lot of impromptu dancing and sung happening around my carr.
RIP!
I have friends from the U.K. who are personal friends of Little Richard. They are devastated. Europeans absolutely adore early rock n roll legends. There is mad love and respect for the early rock greats across the pond.
How amazing for your friend to have played with Little Richard! I look forward to his story.
Rest In Peace, Little Richard. You will definitely not soon be forgotten.
He is an icon.
Not only was he great to listen to but so much fun to watch! I felt that way when Kenny Rogers died. I just loved his voice
He broke through many barriers. It was a scary time. But he did it. And lived a long time. I saw him a few of times. He gave it all every time.
One day at a time, sweet Jesus. I’ll honor this talented, gorgeous man by listening. We’ll remember you.
Little Richard, the man is and will always be a legend to Rock n Roll – ” The Girl Can’t Help It”
In the UK he inspired The Beatles, The Stones, David Bowie, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the list goes.
Gone but not forgotten
Did you read what the director Ava DuVernay wrote about him? (Director of Selma, Wrinkle in Time, 13th, etc.)
When she was a student at UCLA, double majoring, she was working as a waitress at a soul food restaurant. Little Richard came in for Sunday brunch every week with friends. He tipped her “a crisp” $100 on a $75 meal. She said it helped her so much.
I hope he has found peace with being part of the LGBTQIA community.