(Reuters) (03/18/04)

By Jonathan Cohen

Edited By Michael Bennett

AUSTIN, TX, USA - Music legend LITTLE RICHARD put his larger than life personality on display for all to see Thursday during a keynote address at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas.

Interviewer Dave Marsh could scarcely get a word in edgewise with the artist, who was scheduled to perform later at the Austin Music Hall.

Rambling from story to story and frequently speaking in rhyme, Richard described his experiences with other rock legends in their formative days.

Of Jimi Hendrix, who played in Richard's band before striking out as a solo act, he said, "Jimi was a lady's man."

"If he saw a lady, he'd forget everything else. When he was with me, he didn't play that kind of guitar."

"He played Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson and the blues. My brother fired him without my permission."

He recalled turning down an opportunity to sign off on The Beatles' cover of 'Good Golly Miss Molly,' which the group wanted him to shop around to U.S. record labels.

"I didn't bring the tape," he said. "Now, I wish I did because they offered me 50% of the royalties!"

On sharing the stage with rising star James Brown: "He came to Macon, with a group called The Flames."

"They weren't famous but they called themselves the Famous Flames. So I let them come onstage and they sang 'Please Please.'"

"When James got through after begging for an hour, I had to wait an hour to get my mic back!"

The artist encouraged up-and-coming artists to devote themselves to their craft, and not be bothered with genre constraints.

"Soul ain't nothing but an expression," he says.

"You can have soul in classical music or blues or jazz. When you sing from the heart, it reaches the heart."

Now 71, Richard still tours regularly but admits he has no interest in recording new material.

"I've had offers, but I think, if it ain't broke, don't fix it," he said.

"New disc jockeys are going to play new artists. You don't need a record when you get to a certain stage of life."

"General Electric don't need to make a new light bulb. They're still the electric company. I'm Little Richard and I'm going to be here."

Little Richard replaced Antonio "L.A." Reid as the keynote speaker at South By Southwest after the latter lost his job as president of Arista Records in January.

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