Little Richard: I Am Everything focuses on the star's roots in — and struggle with — his connection to queer culture. TV critic Eric Deggans says it's a masterpiece.
According to the film, when one of his early recording sessions wasn't going well, he went to a nearby bar to blow off steam. He jumped on a piano there and played a song about anal sex.
For the film, keyboardist and singer Cory Henry recreates the moment Little Richard sang"Tutti Fruitti" with its original lyrics:"Tutti Fruitti/good booty." The song, with sanitized lyrics, became Little Richard's first big hit.The film also delves into periods when he became devoutly religious, denouncing his life as a gay man and his success in rock 'n' roll.
This tension is shown in several moments: When he appears on Late Night with David Letterman in a conservative-looking suit and natural haircut to declare God"mae Adam to be with Eve, not Steve." When he appears in an interview a few years before his death in 2020, without makeup or a wig, with balding hair and in a wheelchair to denounce rock 'n' roll.
He's shown singing gospel on the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon in 1983 as one expert notes,"When I hear his passionate singing at this time, it's hard to tell how much is running towards God, and how much is running away from himself."— a masterpiece and worthy tribute, which explores how an artist who tapped queer culture to liberate fellow musicians and audiences, always struggled to liberate himself.
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