^ Well, as self-declared atheists, those musicians don't really belong in this thread and should be cast into the outer darkness.
Having said that, to take a clear position as an atheist is usually the result of some kind of spiritual searching, so perhaps there is a case to be made for them here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DianneW
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^ Thanks for these totally on-topic lists, Dianne. To my surprise, no mention of
Little Richard, often credited as the creator of rock 'n' roll:-
Instead of exploring some exotic new faith, in mid-career, LR got serious about the Pentecostal religion he was brought up in:-
Quote:
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After he was born again in 1957, Richard enrolled at a Seventh-day Adventist college, to study theology. Richard returned to secular music in the early 1960s. He was eventually ordained a minister in 1970 and resumed evangelical activities in 1977. Richard represented Memorial Bibles International and sold their Black Heritage Bible, which highlighted the Book's many black characters. As a preacher, he evangelized in small churches and packed auditoriums of 20,000 or more. His preaching focused on uniting the races and bringing lost souls to repentance through God's love.
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So LR's rediscovery of gospel religion didn't lead to a renunciation of his rock roots as it did with some. His spirit could walk and chew gum at the same time. I bolded a sentence in that wiki quote above, because it conceals an interesting detail:
In 1962, Little Richard toured Europe:on the first night of the tour LR "performed only gospel material during the show, leading to boos from the audience expecting Richard to sing his rock and roll hits. " So LR changed tack and stuck to his old hits for the rest of the tour. To me this tour was exceptional because Brian Epstein asked the promotors if The Beatles could please open for LR on a couple of dates, and the grandaddy of rock granted them that privilege.
And what were the crowd booing on that first night? Maybe something like this track from his 1960 album:-
Gotta say that like that 1962 audience, I like it better when LR's message is not "God is real" but "Bama lama Bama Loo".