Bob Dylan pays moving tribute to Little Richard: ‘He was my shining star’

Singer-songwriter recalls playing shows with the late pioneer and reflects on his legacy as ‘the original spirit that moved me’

Bob Dylan has paid moving tribute to rock’n’roll pioneer Little Richard, who died on Saturday aged 87.

Dylan is part of a generation of artists influenced by the wild Georgia-born performer, along with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, David Bowie, Prince and Jimi Hendrix.

The singer-songwriter issued a poignant statement via his Twitter account: “I just heard the news about Little Richard and I’m so grieved,” he wrote.

“He was my shining star and guiding light back when I was only a little boy. His was the original spirit that moved me to do everything I would do.”

He continued: “I played some shows with him in Europe in the early Nineties and got to hang out in his dressing room a lot. He was always generous, kind and humble. And still dynamite as a performer and a musician and you could still learn plenty from him.

“In his presence he was always the same Little Richard that I first heard and was awed by growing up and I always was the same little boy. Of course he’ll live forever. But it’s like a part of your life is gone.”

Dylan is set to release his first new album of original songs in eight years on 19 June. Rough and Rowdy Ways will be his 39th album, and is preceded by the 17-minute epic “Murder Most Foul” and “I Contain Multitudes”.

Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Elvis Costello also paid tribute.

McCartney tweeted: “I owed a lot of what I do to Little Richard and his style; and he knew it. He would say, ‘I taught Paul everything he knows’.”

While Mick Jagger wrote: “He was the biggest inspiration of my early teens and his music still has the same raw electric energy when you play it now as it did when it first shot through the music scene in the mid-Fifties.

“When we were on tour with him, I would watch his moves every night.”

“Without a doubt – musically, vocally and visually – he was my biggest influence,” said Elton John. “Seeing him live in my teens was the most exciting event in my life at that point. Goosebumps, electricity and joy came from every pore.”

Read The Independent’s tribute to Little Richard by critic Mark Beaumont here.