...and "front row" meant that you were about ten feet away from the edge of the stage. That place was incredible...very intimate, with a revolving stage (which some performers hated, and they were not shy about expressing it). It's long-gone, torn down and replaced with a steel & glass high-rise office complex. Damned shame. I saw one of the final shows there...a blues package with Dr. John, The Fabulous Thunderbirds (with Jimmy Vaughn long gone), BB King and Buddy Guy.
Anyway, back to Little Richard...
Chuck Berry opened, and he had a big chip on his shoulder that night. He played a 25 minute set...sloppy, brief versions of "School Days" and "Roll Over Beethoven," and the rest of the set was an even sloppier "My Ding A Ling." He absolutely phoned in his performance and didn't give a rat's ass...
...but the Georgia Peach was a different story. To steal a Christopher Guest joke from an old National Lampoon bit, "He both rocked and rolled."
He had on his "mirror suit"...God knows how many little postage stamp-sized mirrors all over it...and did any Little Richard song you'd ever want to hear (the set was STILL brief, following the Circle Star's convention at the time, but it was ACTION PACKED).
At one point a woman wanted to take his photo. He loved it. He posed, gave that big, neon Little Richard smile and right before she took it asked "Am I beautiful enough for you?"
One of the best performances I've ever seen in my life. Period.
There's a pretty funny story about Eddie Murphy telling Little Richard why he wouldn't play him in a movie adaptation of Charles White's "authorized bio," "The Life And Times of Little Richard."
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TVG6TV4AL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpgIt was Murphy's reaction to an anecdote from the book. The cleaned-up version of the exchange was Murphy asking "Oh yeah? And who are you gonna get to play THAT scene?"
Anyone who's read the book knows EXACTLY which scene he was talking about.
:rofl:
:toast:
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