James Brown Was Used As A Stand-In For Little Richard When He Couldn’t Make His Gigs

Little Richard, James Brown

James Brown Was Used As A Stand-In For Little Richard When He Couldn’t Make His Gigs

It looks like James Brown used to help out Little Richard in a major way.

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lisa Cortes screened her new documentary “Little Richard: I Am Everything” at Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival this week and made a big revelation.

During a Q&A session, Cortes informed the crowd that James Brown would sometimes act as a stand-in for Little Richard.

“Little Richard would get so busy that he had no time to fulfill all his gigs, so his protege James Brown would dress up like him and take his gigs.”

Although many think Elvis Presley was the first rock ‘n’ roll legend, Cortes’ rock doc reminds music fans that Little Richard was

“the originator.. the emancipator… the architect of rock n roll.”

Little Richard

Little Richard influenced rock n roll legends like Mick Jagger, David Bowie and James Brown.

The new documentary,

“tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator — the originator — Richard Penniman.”

Cortes told Deadline,

“I made this film because the story of Little Richard is the story of rock ‘n’ roll — and rock ‘n roll is the American idiom.”

Little Richard passed away in Tullahoma, Tenn., on May 9, 2020 from bone cancer. He was 87.

James Brown died of a heart attack in 2006 in Atlanta, Ga at the age of 73. Brown is referred to as the “Godfather of Soul.” In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres including soul, r&b, and funk.

The documentary Little Richard: I Am Everything premieres on CNN on Sept. 4.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!

[Source: 1, 2 ]