As the end of 2021 draws near, I have been thinking about jazz and soul musicians we lost this year While browsing through the memorial tribute I wrote in 2020, which was headed with this photo, I realized that I have never featured Richard Wayne Penniman, who the world knew as Little Richard, born on December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia. So for today’s Black Music Sunday I invite you to join me in celebrating a man whose impact on R&B, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll should never be overlooked or underestimated—though far too often his imitators and borrowers are credited with what he pioneered.   Read more