Leva Mae and Charles Penniman welcomed their third child, Richard Wayne, into the world on December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia. His father was a bricklayer, a church deacon, the owner of the Tip Inn nightclub, and a sideline bootlegger of moonshine.
His mother attended the New Hope Baptist Church in Macon. His given name should have been “Ricardo,” but due to a mistake, it became “Richard.” His relatives referred to him as “Lil’ Richard” as a youngster due to his diminutive size and thin build.
Little Richard children: Meet Danny Jones Penniman
Gay, bisexual, and even “omnisexual” were all labels Little Richard used to describe himself. However, he did have a short marriage to a lady.
On July 11, 1959, he wed Washington, D.C. secretary Ernestine Harvin; however, in 1961, they divorced.
During their marriage, Danny Jones Penniman was adopted by Ernestine, his wife. Over the years, Danny Jones and Little Richard remained close friends.
Around 1956, Richard started dating Savannah, Georgia native Audrey Robinson, a sixteen-year-old college student.
Robinson detested rock & roll music, but Richard and Robinson hit it off right away.
Richard claimed in his memoirs from 1984 that he brought other guys, such as Buddy Holly, over for sex, but Robinson subsequently refuted those accusations.
