Close Encounter With Rock 'N' Roll Legend

little richard, heather wallace, orato senior editor

My boyfriend at the time Marc Stephan and I posing with the legendary Little Richard. (Before I had fashion sense.)

Upon closer inspection, I saw the unmistakable face of Little Richard!

By Orato Editor Heather Wallace

Date Posted: 12/27/06

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This week, Orato Editor-In-Chief Paul Sullivan put a call out for our citizen correspondents to tell us their stories of encounters with celebrities. We've almost all had them, and I've been fortunate to have more than one. But one of the most memorable was realizing that early rock 'n' roll pioneer Little Richard was on the same flight as me on my way down to West Palm Beach, Florida a few years back.

I think it was about 1997 or 1998. My boyfriend at the time had invited me to come and stay at his family's condo in Florida. It was the middle of winter in Alberta, Canada, and so a vacation in the sun was to be a welcome break from the -45 C back home. His family was big into the golf, so while my boyfriend planned to practice his swing, I planned to relax by the pool.

This particular ex-boyfriend was really into the oldies music from the 1950s and 1960s. He and his family always had this old-fashioned rock and roll playing over a card game or during road trips in their Buick. Sam Cooke, Elvis Presley, James Brown and The Beach Boys, just to name a few of their favorites.

So, my boyfriend and I were on our flight to Florida when I noticed a posse of men sitting just ahead of us. I got up to go to the bathroom and glanced over at the group of men. They were all sharply dressed African Amercians with coiffed hair and a certain pizazz. Upon closer inspection, I saw the unmistakable face of Little Richard! I didn't even need to take a second glance. His face and style are so distinctive, that one recongizes him immediately. I was brimming with excitement. I couldn't wait to tell Marc that one of his idols was sitting just in front of us.

"Guess who's on the plane?" I asked him.

I told him and he didn't believe me. "Get out of town," he said. Still not believing me, he got up out of his seat to see for himself.