Every major rock star starts off as a student of the genre first. Regardless of how many great albums they will one day make themselves, that only comes from a treasure trove of a record collection at their disposal well before they even thought of picking up a guitar or standing behind the microphone. Although the golden age of rock and roll cropped up a few years before John Lennon started learning banjo chords from his mother, he knew that there was something else going on the minute that he heard this rock and roll pioneer.
At the same time, we should clear up the rumour that every pre-Beatles rock act sounded alike. All of them did have their roots in blues music to some extent, but there are a lot more avenues that someone can take their music than playing three chords and trying to get some respect from people who want to dance.
Chuck Berry is probably the clearest indication of the first-ever guitar hero, but even he was known to switch things up every now and again. Those diminished chords that kick off ‘No Particular Place To Go’ definitely had an impact on a young Lennon and Paul McCartney, but there were also acts like Buddy Holly that caught their ear because of his original tunes like ‘Peggy Sue’ and ‘That’ll Be The Day’.
And it’s hard to look at that era without bringing up Elvis Presley. Compared to everyone else playing instruments, Presley was every bit of the frontman that people were looking for, and even if his performance on guitar was downright laughable at times, it didn’t matter as long as he shook his ass and made fans fall over completely delirious.
But even for as animated as Presley could be, Little Richard had ten times more energy than anyone who ever graced the stage. His style may have been the same as what Berry had been doing beforehand, but when looking over that piano stool, Richard was the androgynous pinup star that no one could touch, especially when he opened his mouth to sing and broke out one of the huskiest vocal deliveries in modern music.
Lennon was still just learning the ropes when Richard came overseas, but even he admitted being a bit of a fanboy watching him perform every night, saying, “We used to stand backstage at Hamburg’s Star Club and watch Little Richard play. Or he used to sit and talk. He used to read from the Bible backstage, and just to hear him talk, we’d sit around and listen. It was Brian Epstein that brought him to Hamburg. I still love him, and he’s one of the greatest.”
It doesn’t hurt that Richard had the best repertoire back in the day, as well. Whereas Berry could take bits and pieces and could get a little bit monotonous after a while, Richard’s music pinned people against the wall when they heard tracks like ‘Long Tall Sally’ and ‘Keep A-Knockin’’, each of which was also laying the groundwork for the Robert Plants and Chris Cornells of the world due to just how visceral his delivery was.
Although McCartney was the one capable of reaching Richard’s screams, that didn’t deter Lennon from shouting his praises at every opportunity. Because if someone is ever attempting to make a great rock and roll tune, they’re still going to be living in the shadow of ‘Tutti Frutti’ for the rest of their lives.
