10 Greatest Keyboardists Of All Time
7. Little Richard
It's no surprise that the guitar took off as the main instrument of rock and roll at the genre's inception. The instrument slung around one's neck like a gunslinger is the embodiment of cool, but Little Richard was one of the first examples of a piano hero.
Taking influence from the blues, Little Richard launched himself into rock history with his tunes that were typical 12-bar jams laced with raw aggression. On the live stage, Little Richard was the ultimate showman, who would do everything from scream to putting his leg up on top of his piano as he hammered out his hits. From his earliest shows onward, Richard didn't so much play the piano as he attacked it with every tune. You could practically hear the piano screaming its anguish across "Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Tutti Fruiti."
Aside from his talent behind the piano, Little Richard's scream was something completely authentic for the time, which went on to inspire everyone from Paul McCartney to Lemmy from Motorhead. As the more raucous side of rock and roll manifested, no one could hold a candle to the damage that Little Richard could bring every time he was on the piano stool.