Otis Blackwell
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Otis Blackwell (16 February 1932 – 6 May 2002) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist whose work significantly influenced rock'n'roll in the 1950s. He should not be confused with the songwriter/producer Robert 'Bumps' Blackwell.
Otis Blackwell was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died in Nashville, Tennessee. He first became famous by winning a local talent contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.
Blackwell was one of the leading figures of early rock 'n' roll, although he was not well known by the public. His own records never cracked the Top 40, yet he wrote million-selling songs for Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dee Clark and others. When he was having a contract dispute with his publishing company, he also wrote under the pen-name of "John Davenport", [link] which was also the name of his stepfather.
Throughout his lifetime, Blackwell composed more than a thousand songs, garnering worldwide sales of close to 200 million records.
Many of the songs Blackwell wrote also listed the recording artist and others as co-writers. This was the prevailing practise at the time, because the only royalties an artist could be sure of receiving was those from song-writing. That was the price a writer paid for having top-notch talent record their work. But Blackwell did not mind, preferring to be in the shadows.
Otis Blackwell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986 and in 1991 into the National Academy of Popular Music's Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Otis Blackwell died in 2002 of a heart attack and was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.
Songs he composed, with the performer who made them famous, include:
- "All Shook Up" (Elvis Presley)
- "Don't Be Cruel" (Elvis Presley)
- "Fever" as "John Davenport" (Eddie Cooley, Peggy Lee, and countless other performers)
- "Great Balls of Fire" (Jerry Lee Lewis)
- "Breathless" (Jerry Lee Lewis)
- "Hey Little Girl" (Dee Clark)
- "Handy Man" (Jimmy Jones, Del Shannon, James Taylor)
- "Return To Sender" (Elvis Presley)
External links
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