Ronald Reagan Bldg -- Performance: Little Richard:
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Description of Pictures: I went to see Little Richard at a free concert at the Wilson Plaza just across the street from my building. Little Richard, who turns 75 (!) in December, came out on crutches and talked about leg pains -- including a long-needle injection the other day -- so I'm not sure how much the drugs were effecting him. He scolded a video camera guy, saying he wasn't paid a dime for several of his songs and how dare someone try to make money off of him now.
He performed for about 75 minutes including some of his more famous pieces, some from others, and a new one or two. At one point, he brought audience women up on the stage to dance. He paused periodically to autograph things, with chats interspersed with his signature line "shut up!". He has a unique personality that radiated throughout.
Full of energy initially, he started running out of steam about half way through. On a couple of songs, he didn't play the piano at all and he sang too quietly to be heard. Given that he's 75, I'm impressed he can do this at all. He talked about all of his friends who had died recently including Ray Charles. He ended the evening asking to be called back in later years to perform, saying he'd come out on a stretcher if he had to.
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LRICH_070920_455.JPG: Little Richard @ Woodrow Wilson Plaza
LRICH_070920_459.JPG: Good golly, Miss Molly! Rock pioneer Little Richard passed on May 9, 2020. His first mega hit was "Tutti Frutti", recorded in 1955 but his number ones included "Long Tall Sally" (1956), "Rip it Up" (1956), and "Lucille" (1957). He's shown here at a free concert at the Woodrow Wilson Plaza in DC back in 2007. Despite crutches, he was still a manic performer.
LRICH_070920_535.JPG: Little Richard had started using crutches this year because of sciatica in his left leg.
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[Performances]
2007 photos: Equipment this year: I used the Fuji S9000 almost exclusively except for the period when it broke and I had to send it back for repairs. In August, I bought a Canon Rebel Xti, my first digital SLR (vs regular digital) which I tried as well but I wasn't that excited by it.
Trips this year: Two weeks down south (including Graceland, Shiloh, VIcksburg, and New Orleans), a week at a time share in Costa Rica over my 50th birthday, a week off for a family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with sidetrips to Dayton, Springfield, and Madison), a week in San Diego for the Comic-Con with a side trip to Michigan for two family reunions, a drive up to Niagara Falls, a couple of weekend jaunts including the Civil War Preservation Trust Grand Review in Vicksburg, and a December journey to three state capitols (Richmond, Raleigh, and Columbia). I saw sites in 18 states and 3 other countries this year -- the first year I'd been to more than two other countries since we lived in Venezuela when I was a little toddler.
Ego strokes: A photo that I took at the National Archives was used as the author photo on the book jacket for David A. Nichols' "A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution." I became a volunteer photographer at both Sixth and I Historic Synagogue and the Civil War Preservation Trust (later renamed "Civil War Trust")..
Number of photos taken this year: 225,000.