Born Richard Penniman, Little Richard was one of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll\u2019s founding fathers who helped shatter the color line on the music charts, joining Chuck Berry and Fats Domino in bringing what was once called \u201crace music\u201d into the mainstream. Richard\u2019s hyperkinetic piano playing, coupled with his howling vocals and hairdo, made him an implausible sensation \u2014 a gay, black man celebrated across America during the buttoned-down Eisenhower era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n