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Credit: Far Out \/ Raph_PH<\/p>\n
Tue 14 July 2026 6:00, UK <\/p>\n
Nobody could have predicted a band like The Beatles<\/a>. So far beyond the realm of 1960s imagination that Liverpudlian outfit changed the musical landscape forevermore, but as Paul McCartney can attest, they didn\u2019t emerge entirely from the ether.<\/p>\n Like every rock and roll band since the dawn of the genre, The Beatles were a product of their various musical influences. McCartney, for instance, might never have written a song were it not for the rock and roll role model of Buddy Holly<\/a> and \u2018That\u2019ll Be The Day\u2019. Meanwhile, much of the Fab Four\u2019s early sets were made up of cover versions of 1950s rock and roll and R&B tracks, by the likes of Chuck Berry, Barrett Strong and, perhaps most importantly, Little Richard.\u00a0<\/p>\n If Buddy Holly represented the relatable, accessible side of American rock music back in the 1950s, Little Richard was on the opposite end of the spectrum. With energy bursting at his bedazzled seams and a look that meant he might as well have arrived on the scene in a rocket ship from the outer cosmos, Richard was essential in accelerating the revolution of rock and roll during the early days of the scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n Again, Little Richard was a performer indebted to the inspiration of the blues, R&B, and gospel performers who came before him, but for a young Paul McCartney, he represented the emergence of an entirely new age.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, the first wild, high voice that I\u2019d ever heard was Little Richard, you know,\u201d he once shared, in a 2013 chat with Ronnie Wood<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s all from gospel. It was just amazing. We were kids, and it was such an influence.\u201d <\/p>\n Fittingly, The Beatles regularly covered Little Richard during their live performances, with \u2018Long Tall Sally\u2019 being a particular favourite. That cover, in fact, stretches right back to Macca\u2019s school days, as he recalled, \u201cI remember the last day of term at school, you were allowed to bring your guitar in. Like in one of the movies, I stood on the desk and did \u2018Long Tall Sally\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n From that point on, it was clear that McCartney was destined to pursue the path of rock and roll, introduced to him by the adrenaline explosion of that 1956 single. Without Little Richard, it isn\u2019t overly egregious to claim that there would have been no Beatles; Elvis might have earned the title of \u2018The King of Rock\u2019, but it was much more fitting when attached to Richard<\/a>. <\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/strong><\/p>\n Not only did Little Richard provide some early inspiration for McCartney during his childhood, but he also had a very real impact on The Beatles as performers. During the very early days of the group, when they were playing residencies in the dingy underground clubs of Hamburg, the first generation of American rockers had just started to visit Europe, and they invariably ended up performing at the same venues. <\/p>\n At The Star Club in Hamburg, for instance, Little Richard crossed paths with The Beatles on a few occasions, with the rock legend instilling some early performance advance in the young band that they undoubtedly carried through their meteoric rise to stardom. Like McCartney and the gang, Little Richard was not formed from thin air, owing to his own pool of influence. Yet, also like The Beatles, he managed to change the musical world beyond all recognition.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/a> The Far Out Beatles Newsletter<\/p>\n