The Beatles listened to many classic rock stars who made them fall in love with the genre. This included Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Little Richard. The Beatles were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to open for Little Richard while performing in Hamburg, Germany. In a new documentary, The Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr recalled when they first met one of their rock idols.
Little Richard had a significant influence on The Beatles
Little Richard was one of the earliest rock stars in the U.S. His infectious energy and eccentric instrumentals were addicting, and many musicians wanted to emulate his style. The Beatles did cover a few of Little Richard’s songs, including “Long Tall Sally” and “Lucille”. In the new BBC documentary, Little Richard: King & Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Starr recalled the moment he heard the singer for the first time.
“Little Richard came on – first time we’d heard him, we were like, ‘Whaaat?’ He was just so great, but what was great, ‘cause we were young teenagers, he said, ‘shag on down to the union hall!’ Shag on down?! – you know,” Starr said via Express. “It means something different in England… Rock then became a force, and Little Richard was always leading it.”
Star recalled when the band met Little Richard for the first time
In the early 1960s, The Beatles were beginning to become a hot commodity in the U.K. This led to a few amazing opportunities, including the chance to perform on the same stage as some of the biggest acts in the world, such as Little Richard. Before they were signed to a label, The Beatles performed on the same bill as Little Richard at Liverpool’s Tower and Empire Ballrooms. However, it wasn’t until they shared the same residency in Hamburg that the band met their rock hero.
“To play on the same stage as Little Richard was huge,” Ringo said. “And then, lo and behold – Brian the manager, brought us backstage. Little Richard, you know, was this close, it was so great! We were blessed! If you look at music and where rock came from, he is right in there. He was like a huge influence on us.”
In the documentary, Richard remembered being overwhelmed by the young Liverpool kids, who were shellshocked to meet the “Tuttit Frutti” singer.
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“Paul grabbed my hand, and he rubbed my shoulders,” Richard shared. “John got my finger. And George got my finger. And Paul got my arm.”
Little Richard said he taught Paul McCartney a neat trick
Little Richard had a signature yell that made him unique. In archive footage from the documentary, Richard said he was backstage with The Beatles and taught McCartney his distinct scream.
“He was standing in the wing of the stage, and I was there, ‘woo!’. He said, ‘woo’. I said ‘woo!’. He said, ‘woo, woo,’” Richard shared.
However, Ringo debunked this story, saying McCartney randomly did it with Richard, and Richard decided to tell people he taught Paul how to do it.
“Well he didn’t teach him – that was always the joke!” Starr explained. “Paul just decided to, ‘woo!’ And, uh, Little Richard, from that day on, um, told him how he taught Paul to ‘woo!’ But that was Little Richard. You know, we loved the man.”
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