LOS ANGELES -- A record company president is suing Little Richard for $3 million, claiming the rock 'n' roll pioneer made slanderous statements about him during a recent radio interview.
Arthur Rupe, president of Hollywood-based Specialty Records Inc., claimed in the suit filed Friday that Little Richard inferred he was racist during an Aug. 23 radio show 'because of his feelings of hatred and ill-will toward the plaintiff and with a desire to oppress the plaintiff.'
Little Richard, whose real name is Richard Penniman, told Michael Jackson of radio station KABC in Los Angeles that he had filed suit against Rupe and the record company over millions of dollars in allegedly unpaid royalties.
Jackson asked if Little Richard if he felt he had been misguided by the company when he agreed to sign away rights to his songs for a flat fee, to which Richard reportedly responded:
'What has happened is, I was working with a guy by the name of Art Rupe that was the head of Specialty Records, and he said that all a black person needed is $12,000 a year. They didn't need no more.'
Little Richard filed suit in June naming Specialty Records, ATV Music Corp. and Venice Music as defendants and claiming the record companies have not paid him royalties for such songs as 'Tutti Frutti,' 'Lucille' and 'Long Tall Sally' since 1955.
Court documents showed that Little Richard signed with Specialty Records in 1955 and granted ownership of his songs to the company in exchange for 50 percent of the royalties.
He sued in 1959, claiming he had not received payment. He settled the superior court suit that year, accepting $11,000 to waive his right to royalties from the sale of records.
