Sunday 16 February 2020

Otis Blackwell born 16 February 1931


Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an African-American songwriter, singer, and pianist, whose work significantly influenced rock and roll.

Born and brought up in New York City, he learnt the piano as a child and listened on the radio to rhythm and blues (then known as "race" music) and to country music in films starring such singing cowboys as Gene Autry and Tex Ritter. They were the two elements that were eventually to combine in the early 1950s to create the hybrid that was rock'n'roll.

On leaving school in the late 1940s, he worked first as a lowly floor-sweeper at a New York theatre and then as a clothes-presser in a laundry. In 1952 he won a local talent contest at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and secured a recording contract with Joe Davis's Jay-Dee label. It was at Davis's suggestion that he began writing his own songs. "I was thrown into it," he later said.


                                

His first release was the self-composed Daddy Rolling Stone. It failed to reach the charts but later became a big hit in Jamaica where it was recorded by Derek Martin. Blackwell made further recordings for RCA Records and the Groove label which were among the earliest examples of the emerging rock'n'roll style. 
But all the time he was developing his songwriting and on Christmas Eve 1955, he sold the demos of six songs he had written for $25 each. They included "Don't Be Cruel", which featured him singing over an accompaniment of piano and a cardboard box for a drum. Yet his first big hit as a writer came with the sultry and atmospheric "Fever". Originally an R&B hit in 1956 for Little Willie John, it became an even bigger pop hit for Peggy Lee.

His association with Presley began around the same time, when the singer covered "Don't Be Cruel". Originally released as the B-side of Hound Dog, the song had topped the American charts in its own right by September 1956. It simultaneously headed both the R&B and Country charts. Next, Presley recorded Blackwell's "Paralysed", which fared less well, although it later reached No 8 in the British charts. But by April 1957 a version of "All Shook Up", 
originally recorded by the little-known David Hill, had not only restored Presley to the top of the charts but also become the biggest selling single of the year. The song was written after Blackwell's publisher, "Goldie" Goldhawk, had shaken up a bottle of Pepsi and said to him: "You can write about anything. Now write about this!" Blackwell provided Presley with further hit songs, including "Return to Sender" and "One Broken Heart for Sale".

There has been considerable speculation over the relationship between Blackwell and Presley, who never met. "We had a great thing going and I just wanted to leave it alone," Blackwell said in an interview in 1989. Their two names often appeared together on records as co-writers, but in truth Presley's role as a writer was negligible. 
It was common practice at the time to sell part or all of the rights of a song and Presley's astute manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was well aware of the value of the publishing royalties. It has also been said that Presley borrowed many of his vocal mannerisms from Blackwell. Certainly it was the singer's method at the time to copy wholesale the writer's demo of a song, arrangement and all. As Presley used Blackwell's demos to learn the songs, the debt was probably considerable.

A prolific writer, who sometimes used the white-sounding pseudonym John Davenport, Blackwell copyrighted more than a thousand compositions in his career. Among them was Jerry Lee Lewis's signature tune "Great Balls of Fire", as well as further hits for Lewis in "Breathless" and "Let's Talk About Us". There were more 1950s rock'n'roll hits with "Hey Little Girl" and "Just Keep It Up" by the now almost-forgotten Dee Clark, and Cliff Richard 
recorded his "Nine Times out of Ten". Jimmy Jones had a hit in 1960 with Blackwell's "Handy Man", which was revived by James Taylor in the 1970s, and Neil Diamond, Billy Joel and Tanya Tucker also recorded his songs. So, too, did Ray Charles and Otis Redding, although Blackwell was disappointed that few black artists ever had hits with his compositions.

He continued writing and performing and enjoyed some success in 1976 with the comeback album "These Are My Songs!" on the Inner City label. He also recorded the tribute The No.1 King of Rock'n'Roll on his own Fever label when Presley died in 1977. In later years Blackwell was in semi-retirement, making only occasional live appearances. In 1990 he moved to Nashville to establish a new record label with Col. Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's former manager.

In 1991 he was inducted into the National Academy of Popular Music's Songwriters Hall of Fame. That same year stroke paralyzed the legendary song scribe, but his influence remained so enduring that it inspired Brace Yourself!, an all-star 1994 tribute album that included contributions by Dave Edmunds, Joe Ely, Deborah Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Kris Kristofferson, Graham Parker, and bluesman Joe Louis Walker.

Due to his debilitating stroke Otis had suffered from ill health the remainder of his life and eventually spent frequent visits to St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, where he died from a heart attack on May 6, 2002.      (Edited mainly from Spectropop)

3 comments:

boppinbob said...

For “VA - Handy Man ~ The Otis Blackwell Songbook (2012)” go here:

https://www.upload.ee/files/11137580/Otis_Blackwell_Songbook.rar.html

1. Elvis Presley - Make Me Know It (2:01)
2. Clyde McPhatter - I Told Myself A Lie.wav (2:05)
3. Jerry Lee Lewis - Don't Be Cruel (2:00)
4. The Five Keys - My Pigeon's Gone (2:22)
5. Charlie Gracie - Cool Baby (1:39)
6. Little Willie John - Fever (2:43)
7. Wade Flemons - Slow Motion (2:08)
8. Johnny Restivo - The Shape I'm In (2:10)
9. Eddie Cooley & The Dimples - Priscilla (2:33)
10. Ben E - King - Brace Yourself (2:09)
11. David Hill - I'm All Shook Up (2:11)
12. Cliff Richard And The Shadows - Nine Times Out Of Ten (2:09)
13. Gene Pitney - I'll Find You (2:36)
14. Mahalia Jackson - For Your Good Fortune (3:23)
15. Thurston Harris - Hey Little Girl (1:49)
16. The Queen - Honky Tonk (1:57)
17. Roy Clark - Please Mister Mayor (2:19)
18. Dee Clark - Just Keep It Up (And See What Happens) (2:06)
19. Jimmy Jones - Too Long Will Be Too Late (2:01)
20. Otis Blackwell - One Broken Heart For Sale (Demo) (3:40)
21. Derek Martin - Daddy Rollin' Stone (2:27)
22. Sam Butera And The Witnesses - I Feel Good All Over (3:53)
23. Solomon Burke - Home In Your Heart (2:05)
24. Del Shannon - Handy Man (5:39)

A big thank you to polarbear @ https://forwardwiththesong.blog for original post.

Arguments over who the greatest rock’n’roll songwriter is will abound long after those reading this have gone to meet their maker. But surely near the top of everyone’s list of contenders would have to be Otis Blackwell, a one-man hit factory whose catalogue includes more classic rock’n’roll songs than any other single songwriter of his time. His compositions for Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis alone would guarantee his entry into every music Hall Of Fame.

The songs featured in “Handy Man” cover roughly from around 1953 to 1963. Later offerings by Solomon Burke and Sam Butera show that, unlike some of his peers, Otis easily adapted to the changes in music as the 1960s unfolded. How durable his compositions were are demonstrated by Derek Martin’s classic 1962 cut of ‘Daddy Rollin’ Stone’, which Otis had recorded as a menacing blues almost a decade earlier. (Ace Record notes)
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For” Otis Blackwell - The Chronological 1952-1954” go here:

https://www.upload.ee/files/11137572/otids_blackwell_5254.rar.html

01 - Wake Up Fool (Blackwell)
02 - Fool That I Be (Blackwell)
03 - Number 000 (Blackwell)
04 - Please Help Me Find My Way Home (Blackwell)
05 - Tears, Tears, Tears (Blackwell)
06 - Daddy Rolling Stone (Blackwell)
07 - On That Powerline (Blackwell)
08 - Don't Know How I Loved You (Blackwell)
09 - You're My Love (Blackwell)
10 - Go Away Mr. Blues (Blackwell)
11 - Bartender Fill It Up Again (Blackwell)
12 - I'm Travelin' On (Blackwell)
13 - My Josephine (Blackwell)
14 - Ain't Got No Time (Blackwell)
15 - I'm Coming Back Baby (Blackwell)
16 - Nobody Met the Train (Benjamin, Cray, Dash, Weiss)
17 - I'm Standing at the Doorway to Your Heart (Blackwell)
18 - I Face This World Alone (Blackwell)
19 - O-O-O-Oh! (Blackwell)
20 - Oh! What a Babe (Blackwell)
21 - Here I Am (Blackwell)


This Classics chronological survey of the records he made for the Victor, Jay-Dee, and Groove labels between October 1952 and June 1954 is exceptionally rewarding. Blackwell's persuasive voice, his pronounced knack for solid rhythms and catchy licks, and the presence of several outstanding instrumentalists make for enjoyable listening. In addition to saxophonists Budd Johnson, Lem Johnson, Frank "Floorshow" Culley, Al Sears, Haywood Henry, and Sam "The Man" Taylor, Blackwell's band was driven by rhythm players Freddie Redd, Panama Francis, Arvell Shaw, and Cozy Cole. The tunes are hot, the singer is inspired, the band jumps and bumps. Who cares whether these records made it to the charts? This is exceptionally fine music, full of fire, passion, and soul.
(AllMusic notes)

Bob Mac said...

Thank you for Handy Man ~ The Otis Blackwell Songbook

lemonflag said...

Thanks