He died of bone cancer, according to The Associated Press . Dick Alen, Little Richards former agent, told People that he was living in Nashville, Tennessee, with his brother at the time of his death.
Little Richard was born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia, in 1932. He was one of 12 children seven boys and five girls .
The artist famed for his flamboyant style and inimitable singing enjoyed a series of hit songs in the 1950s from Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally to Good Golly Miss Molly.
The icons influence on music is immeasurable; he inspired many prominent performers including The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Elton John.
As a Black musician born in the Jim Crow era who would sparkle onstage with dramatic makeup, wigs and loud clothing, Little Richard notably transcended widespread ideas of gender and sexuality though he grappled with discussions surrounding his sexuality in the public for decades.
","type":"video","meta":{"author":"MrRaymem","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDkxsOn4ZXV7u6oG08s5T4A","cache_age":86400,"description":"Little Richard - Long Tall Sally - Tutti Frutti\nfrom the film Don't Knock The Rock","options":{"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":480,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LVIttmFAzek/sddefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":640,"title":"Little Richard Long Tall Sally - Tutti Frutti","type":"video","url":"https://action.news/watch?v=LVIttmFAzek","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5eb6b59bc5b69c4b317b4a49","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/little-richard-dead_n_5eb6b59bc5b69c4b317b4a49","entryTagsList":"little-richard,rock-and-roll,entertainment,obituary,@developing","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":"entertainment","sectionRedirectUrl":"https://action.news/entertainment","subcategories":"black-voices,us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":14},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5eb6b59bc5b69c4b317b4a49","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"little richard","slug":"little-richard","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/little-richard","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/little-richard","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/little-richard"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/little-richard"},{"name":"rock and roll","slug":"rock-and-roll","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/rock-and-roll","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/rock-and-roll","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/rock-and-roll"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/rock-and-roll"},{"name":"entertainment","slug":"entertainment","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/entertainment","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/entertainment","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/entertainment"},"relegenceSubjectId":6325647,"department":{"name":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment"},"section":{"title":"Celebrity","slug":"celebrity"},"topic":{"title":"Celebrities","slug":"celebrities","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/entertainment/topic/celebrities"},{"name":" obituary","slug":"obituary","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/obituary","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/obituary","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/obituary"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"Obituaries","slug":"obituary","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/obituary"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">