- This article is about the character. For the guest star, see Little Richard.
- "I love teachers. In fact, I'm a teacher. I taught Paul McCartney to go 'Whooooooooo!'"
- ―Little Richard[src]
| Little Richard
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Character Information
| Gender:
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Male ♂
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| Status:
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Alive
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| Hair:
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Black
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| Occupation:
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Actor
Musician
Singer-songwriter
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| First appearance:
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"Special Edna"
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| Voiced by:
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Himself
|
|
Little Richard is an American musician, singer, and songwriter.
History[edit]
Little Richard was the presenter for the Teacher of the Year award, for which Mrs. Krabappel was one of the finalists. Richard introduced himself by saying, "I love teachers. In fact, I'm a teacher. I taught Paul McCartney to go 'Whoooooooooo!'", breaking into one of his trademark vocal licks. Homer Simpson, in the audience and not realizing who Little Richard was, held up a cigarette lighter and enthusiastically shouted, "Purple Rain!", to which Richard responded by telling Homer to "Shut up!" Homer, still awed, said, "Michael Jackson just told me to shut up."
Later in the ceremony, Little Richard introduced Bart, who was supposed to read a question from a card for Edna to answer. Bart, however, having been coached by Principal Skinner to pretend to be illiterate, stammered his way through the first couple of words, seemingly struggling to sound them out. Richard told Bart, "Hurry up, son", and Bart said he couldn't read because Mrs. Krabappel had never taught him to read. As the audience gasped, Richard confronted Mrs. Krabappel: "Is this true, Edna?"
At this point, Skinner interrupted the proceedings, walked onto the stage, and confessed to working with Bart to keep Mrs. Krabappel from winning the award. He then said, "Edna Krabappel is the greatest teacher I've ever known. If she can teach me to love, then she can teach anything." Agnes Skinner, in the audience, called out, "Seymour! Your feelings are ugly and wrong." Richard turned to Skinner and said, "Are you gonna listen to her?" Skinner replied, "Not on your life, Reverend. From now on, I'm my own man."
Skinner then went down on one knee and asked Edna to marry him, telling her that he had only been able to save up for a ring box. Little Richard said, "Oh, here, honey. Take one of mine. Whoooooooooo!" Richard took a ring off of his own finger and handed it to Skinner. He then quickly reached into his pocket, took out another ring, put it onto the empty spot on his finger, and said, "Oh! I felt naked there for a minute."[1]
Homer said that his Angry Dad voice was partially inspired by Little Richard.[2]
Pat Boone released the album Little Richard's Greatest Hits, performing covers of Little Richard songs.[3]
Behind the Laughter[edit]
- In real life, The Beatles opened for Little Richard for several tour dates in Europe in 1962 and performed covers of some of his songs. Richard advised the group on how to perform his songs, including teaching Paul McCartney how to replicate his vocal style.
- Little Richard was an ordained minister in real life, known for officiating at celebrity weddings, preaching at the funerals of musician friends, and giving out inspirational booklets at his shows.
Appearances[edit]
References[edit]
Episode – "Special Edna" 
