Charles William Connor

Charles "Keep-A-Knockin" Connor--the original drummer for Little Richard, and the drummer behind other music greats including James Brown and Sam Cooke in the Fifties--was called home on July 31, 2021 at the age of 86. He was known for creating the unique "Choo Choo Train" style of successive eighth notes with a loud backbeat used by nearly all subsequent rock 'n' roll drummers.

Connor was born on January 14, 1935 in New Orleans, LA as the third of four children to William Connor, a merchant marine seaman from Santo-Domingo, and Viola Thomas Connor, a Louisiana-born mother.

As a toddler, Connor was drawn to marching parades and the "second-line funeral bands" that played Dixieland jazz through the streets of New Orleans. His parents bought him his first drum set when he was five-years-old. Inspired by such notables as Bob Alden, Art Blakey, Charles Otis, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich and Max Roach, Connor dreamed big and diligently spent all his spare time working towards his goal of becoming a professional drummer. His hard work paid off at age 12 when he began playing drums for local parties and wedding receptions, but his professional career began at 15 when Roy "Professor Longhair" Byrd hired him as a last-minute replacement for the 1950 Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

At 18, Connor joined Little Richard's original road band, where he said "To draw attention to [the Upsetters] and ensure they could perform on stage, [Richard] had to show bigots that the band wouldn't threaten their way of life. Little Richard promoted the band and avoided racial prejudice by insisting the musicians wear thick pancake makeup and act effeminate!"

Connor worked with artists like Lloyd Price during vacations from Little Richard, and since Richard and James Brown shared the same booking agent, on "off-nights" Connor appeared with "The Godfather of Soul," who coined the phrase, "Connor was the first to put the funk in the rhythm!"

Gaining momentum in 1956, Connor along with Little Richard's band appeared in such popular feature films as "The Girl Can't Help It" with actress Jayne Mansfield; "Don't Knock the Rock" and "Mr. Rock 'n' Roll." Then, as Rock 'n' Roll exploded on the music scene, the band recorded several hit songs like "Keep-A-Knockin'," featuring Connor's first four-bar drum intro on a Rock 'n' Roll record; "Ooh! My Soul," also featuring Connor's distinctive "Choo Choo Train" beat; and "She's Got It," with a regular backbeat. Connor had said, "The Civil Rights Act may have been passed in 1964, but Rock 'n' Roll music brought young people and the world together a decade earlier." He concluded proudly, "We got respect and power; our popularity cut across racial lines."

When Little Richard retired for the ministry in 1957, Sam Cooke took over The Upsetters and Connor again toured the United States. During breaks between bookings, Connor toured with other talented artists like Jackie Wilson, the original Coasters, and "Big" Joe Turner. He recorded with "Champion" Jack Dupree, Larry Williams, Don Covay, "Papa" George Lightfoot, Christine Kitrell, Larry Birdsong, and Dee Clark.

Connor's career slowed down in the early Sixties, but he did gigs around Los Angeles in the Seventies with a new band he dubbed the West Coast Upsetters. In 1994, he received a Certificate of Special Recognition from Congresswoman Maxine Waters. He then appeared with Little Richard in 2002, along with Chuck Berry at the Universal Amphitheater.

Connor released the motivational book Don't Give Up Your Dreams: You Can Be a Winner Too! in 2008. He was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame two years later.

In 2013, Connor released his EP, Still Knockin'. He was featured in LA Weekly's 2014 People issue as "One of the Fascinating Angelenos," and the following year was featured in a BBC documentary miniseries, "Rock N Roll America Episode 1: Sweet Little Sixteen."

Connor published his first autobiography, "Keep A Knockin the Story of a Legendary Drummer," in August 2015.

Most recently, Connor was part of a notable ensemble of music legends that included Paul McCartney, B.B. King, Elton John, and Brian Wilson in Sir George Martin's PBS 8-part documentary series "Soundbreaking," in November 2016. In September 2017, he was in Pulse Films' 10-part rock history series "Rock and Roll" in the episode titled "Love." Connor was working on his autobiographical documentary at the time of his death. His drumsticks are on display at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

He was preceded in death by: his parents - William Connor and Viola Thomas Gilbert; brothers - Wesley Connor, Milton Connor; sister - Dorothy Connor-Stokes.

He is survived by his wife, Zenaida Connor, his daughter Queenie Connor Sonnefeld, his son-in-law Joe Sonnefeld, and his granddaughter, Viviana.