Editing Little Richard (section)

==Early life==
Richard Wayne Penniman was born in [[Macon, Georgia]], on December 5, 1932,<ref name="bare">{{Cite book|last1=Eagle|first1=Bob|title=Blues – A Regional Experience|last2=LeBlanc|first2=Eric S.|publisher=Praeger Publishers|year=2013|isbn=978-0313344237|location=Santa Barbara|page=275}}</ref> the third of twelve children of Leva Mae (née Stewart) and Charles "Bud" Penniman. His father was a church [[deacon]] and a [[brick mason]],<ref name=NYT-Weiner-20200509>{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/09/arts/music/little-richard-dead.html|title = Little Richard, Flamboyant Wild Man of Rock 'n' Roll, Dies at 87|newspaper = The New York Times|date = May 9, 2020|last1 = Weiner|first1 = Tim|access-date = May 9, 2020|archive-date = May 17, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200517220310/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/09/arts/music/little-richard-dead.html|url-status = live}}</ref> who sold [[rum-running|bootlegged]] [[moonshine]] on the side and owned a nightclub called the Tip in Inn.{{sfn| Kirby|2009|p=30}}{{sfn|White|2003|p=21}} His mother was a member of Macon's New Hope Baptist Church.{{sfn| White| 2003|p=3}} Initially, his first name was supposed to have been "Ricardo", but an error switched it to "Richard".{{sfn|Kirby|2009|p=30}}{{sfn|White|2003|pp=4–5}} The Penniman children were raised in Macon's [[Pleasant Hill Historic District (Macon, Georgia)|Pleasant Hill]] neighborhood.{{sfn|White|2003|p=3}} In childhood, he was nicknamed "Lil' Richard" by his family because of his small and skinny frame. He was a mischievous child who played pranks on neighbors. He began singing in church and taking piano lessons at a young age.{{sfn|Otfinoski|2010|p=144}}{{sfn|White|2003|p=7}} Possibly as a result of complications at birth, he had a slight [[deformity]] that left one of his legs shorter than the other. This produced an unusual gait, and he was mocked for his [[effeminate]] appearance.{{sfn|White|2003|p=6}}

His family was religious and joined various [[A.M.E.]], [[Baptist]], and [[Pentecostal]] churches, with some family members becoming ministers. He enjoyed the Pentecostal churches the most, because of their charismatic worship and live music.{{sfn|White|2003|pp=16–17}} He later recalled that people in his neighborhood sang gospel songs throughout the day during [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregation]] to keep a positive outlook, because "there was so much poverty, so much prejudice in those days".{{sfn|White|2003|pp=7–9}} He had observed that people sang "to feel their connection with God" and to wash their trials and burdens away.{{sfn|White|2003|p=8}} Gifted with a loud singing voice, he recalled that he was "always changing the key upwards" and that he was once stopped from singing in church for "screaming and hollering" so loud, earning him the nickname "War Hawk".{{sfn|White|2003|p=16}} As a child, he would "beat on the steps of the house, and on tin cans and pots and pans, or whatever" while singing, which annoyed neighbors.{{sfn|White|2003|p=18}}

His initial musical influences were gospel performers such as [[Brother Joe May]], [[Sister Rosetta Tharpe]], [[Mahalia Jackson]], and [[Marion Williams]]. May, a singing evangelist who was known as "the Thunderbolt of the Middle West" because of his phenomenal range and vocal power, inspired Richard to become a preacher.{{sfn|White|2003|pp=15–17}}{{sfn|Ryan|2004|p=77}} He credited the [[Clara Ward Singers]] for one of his distinctive hollers.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1638281/m1/#track/2|title = Pop Chronicles Interviews #71 - Little Richard|year = 1968|access-date = May 27, 2020|archive-date = June 13, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200613180419/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1638281/m1/#track/2|url-status = live}}</ref> Richard attended Macon's [[Ballard-Hudson High School|Hudson High School]],<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Seibert|first1=David|title=Ballard-Hudson Senior High School|url=https://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/bibb/ballard-hudson-senior-high-school|website=GeorgiaInfo: an Online Georgia Almanac|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=November 7, 2016|archive-date=November 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108052542/http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/bibb/ballard-hudson-senior-high-school|url-status=live}}</ref> where he was a below-average student. He eventually learned to play [[alto saxophone]], joining his school's marching band in fifth grade.{{sfn|White|2003|p=18}} While in high school, he got a part-time job at [[Macon City Auditorium]] for local secular and gospel concert promoter Clint Brantley. He sold [[Coca-Cola]] to crowds during concerts of star performers of the day such as [[Cab Calloway]], [[Lucky Millinder]], and his favorite singer, [[Sister Rosetta Tharpe]].{{sfn|White|2003|p=17}}