Little Richard benefited from a break given to him by Rupe when he was the owner of Specialty Records in Los Angeles. Little Richard sent in a tape under his name Richard Penniman.
Rupe wanted to hear what he sounded like singing live. Initially he wasn’t impressed and asked the singer to play the piano, which he did to a tune called Tutti Frutti.
Released under the name Little Richard, the song was one of Penniman’s 14 hits with the label.
Arthur Newton Goldberg was born in Greensburg, Pittsburgh.
His father David sold second-hand furniture and his mother Anna encouraged his love of music, particularly gospel singing.
He moved to LA in 1939 to study business and changed his surname to Rupe.
In 1944 he formed Jukebox Records and two years later launched Specialty Records.
Among his hits were Please Send Me Someone To Love by Percy Mayfield, and Lawdy Miss Clawdy by Lloyd Price.
Music historian Billy Vera said Specialty Records defined the evolution of black popular music from the 1940s through to rock ‘n’ roll.
However, some big artists got away, including The Beatles.
In 2011, aged 94, Rupe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the citation: “Rock and roll as we know it would not exist without Art Rupe.”
He married three times and is survived by his daughter Beverly Rupe Schwarz.
- ART RUPE BORN SEPTEMBER 5, 1917 – DIED APRIL 15, 2022, AGED 104.
Be the first to comment