On this day in 1962, The Beatles met Little Richard for the first time

Paul McCartney first became aware of Little Richard when he was 14, after watching the 1956 film “The Girl Can’t Help It”, which featured several songs and a cameo from Little Richard. A year later, when McCartney joined The Beatles and began writing songs with John Lennon, the pair were clearly inspired by Little Richard, using his formula of simple and catchy three chord songs with a rhythm and blues influence. They also covered several of his songs in their early sets, playing classics like Long Tall Sally and Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey. 

The group headed to Hamburg, Germany in 1960 to play a series of residencies, honing their skills as live performers before heading back to the UK. In October 1962 they were invited back to Germany to play as openers for their influence, Little Richard at the new Star-Club in Hamburg. This show would be their biggest break yet, with Little Richard being at the height of his popularity after a string of hits in the late 1950s to early 1960s. 

McCartney and Lennon not only got to meet their idol, but also learned from him by watching his preparation and performance. Little Richard even recalls helping McCartney with they style of his vocals backstage after the show.  Clearly impressed, the singer met up with the band again at the Cavern Club in Liverpool after their Hamburg residency was finished, and told them that he could see huge US success in the band’s future.

Later on when The Beatles first auditioned for a record deal, they attempted to play a more refined set with a very different style to what they had learned from Little Richard, and were refused the deal. When they tried again a couple of months later, they returned to playing the songs they had written with Little Richard’s influence and style, and were rewarded with the deal. A few months later they were launched into superstardom.

While Little Richard wasn’t directly responsible for the success of The Beatles, his style and advice clearly helped and influenced the band with finding their early sound and their big break opening for him in Germany definitely brought with it a number of supportive fans and boosted the bands reputation.