Little Richard Happy At Last?

July, 1987

Little Richard scared my grandmother in 1957. I was 11 years old, on the way to her house for dinner with my parents, and had just shoplifted for the first time. Right in the five-and-dime, and Mom and Dad hadn't even noticed. Easy pickings--the 45 rpm of Lucille on the Specialty label. My favorite record. I felt happily defiant in the back seat of the car with the sharp edge of the single jabbing my stomach beneath the sweater. Once inside Granny's, I made a beeline to her out-of-date hi-fi and...

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