Little Richard and White Washed Music

Black History Month is an opportunity for us to be intentional in learning the all too often overlooked or deliberately avoided racist history behind nearly all aspects of social life. The multi-talented, unapologetically flamboyant, King of Rock and Roll Little Richard is one of the main architects behind today’s pop music scene. A 2023 documentary “Little Richard: I am Everything” gives him all the proper accolades and flowers he deserves.

An insightful interview with the movie’s composer, Tamar-Kali discusses the white washing of rock and roll music. Rather than play a black man’s songs on white radio stations, white music executives used white artists like Pat Boone to re-record Little Richard’s songs, so they could get airtime on the radio and make themselves money off of his back. This is a prime example of white appropriation. As Tamar-Kali states in the interview, “This is a source for deep pain for a lot of Black folks. Whitewashing, erasure, it is violence. It renders you invisible when you are flesh and blood.”