It looks like Bootsy Collins either received bad information or didn’t realize he had old news because Little Richard says he’s doing just fine.
Collins recently tweeted “A friend, a legend & some say the true King of Rock & Roll. Lil-Richard needs our love & understanding right now….” which led to reports that the singer was not in good shape. An additional report also came out that he was surrounded by family and friends in the hospital.
William Sobel, Little Richard’s attorney for thirty years, told Rolling Stone today “I just spoke to him today. He said, ‘You know, I want you to talk to [the press] because I’m really annoyed. This thing started on Facebook. Not only is my family not gathering around me because I’m ill, but I’m still singing. I don’t perform like I used to, but I have my singing voice, I walk around, I had hip surgery a while ago but I’m healthy.'”
Sobel added “He’s 83. I don’t know how many 83-year-olds still get up and rock it out every week, but in light of the rumors, I wanted to tell you that he’s vivacious and conversant about a ton of different things and he’s still very active in a daily routine.”
We have also been contacted by Janice Smith of Jenny Jenny Productions who has also said that the reports are not true. We are awaiting an official statement from her and will pass it along when received.
