Little Richard – Age 86

We best know him as Little Richard but the American crooner was actually born Richard Wayne Penniman. He’s been involved in the music industry since 1949 and Billy Wright inspired him to start recording his own songs. Penniman began with gospel music but somewhere along the way, he switched to secular music, only to once again switch back to the gospel genre. Penniman went through a rough patch with substance abuse but he eventually kicked the habit and by 1977, he was back to evangelism. In 2013, he underwent hip surgery and chose to finally retire from showbiz.