Outsized founding father of rock music Little Richard dies at 87, reports say. Rock’s early days were blessed with a profusion of outsized personalities but none as wild as Richard Penniman, who died Saturday at 87, the Associated Press and New York Times reported. Before Elvis, the flamboyant singer wowed 1950s teens with his frantic sound on songs like "Tutti Frutti" and "Good Golly, Miss Molly". Ref. USAToday.