Little Richard, a flamboyant founding father of rock ‘n’ roll who injected “wop bop a loo bop” into popular music and influenced musicians from The Beatles to Prince, has died at age 87.

Jeff Epstein, his manager, confirmed the death on Saturday morning.

The musician had been sick for a few months, his bassist Charles Glenn added, and he died at his home in Tennessee surrounded by his family.

With his piano-pounding performances, wild vocals, bouffant hair and makeup, Little Richard burst onto the musical scene in the 1950s and shook up the stuffed shirts with a string of his hit songs that got both black and white people dancing.