Rock 'n' roll dynamo who sang "Good Golly Miss Molly." He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
He infused gospel tones with blues music during his performances as a teenager. He performed for the first time onstage when he was fourteen.
He released his first single, "Tutti Frutti," in 1955.
He married Ernestine Campbell in 1959 and they divorced in 1961. He adopted a one-year-old named Danny Jones from a church friend in 1962.
His influence on the music industry in the 1950s has been compared to the influence of Elvis Presley.
