07/06/2024
Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist, whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include "Fever", recorded by Little Willie John; "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis; "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender" (with Winfield Scott), recorded by Elvis Presley; and "Handy Man", recorded by Jimmy Jones.
"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie Jamboree. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 recording was ranked as the 96th greatest song ever by Rolling Stone. The song is in AABA form. The song sold one million copies in its first 10 days of release in the United States making it one of best-selling singles in the United States at that time.
Blackwell was born in Brooklyn, New York. He learned to play the piano as a child and grew up listening to both R&B and country music. His first success was winning a local talent contest ("Amateur Night") at the Apollo Theater, in Harlem, in 1952. This led to a recording contract with RCA and then with Jay-Dee. His first release was his own composition "Daddy Rolling Stone", which became a favorite in Jamaica, where it was recorded by Derek Martin.The song later became part of the Who's mod repertoire. Enjoying some early recording and performing success, he found his first love was songwriting and by 1955 had settled into the groove that he would ride for decades. His first successes as a songwriter came in 1956, when Little Willie John's R&B hit with the sultry "Fever" was an even bigger pop success for Peggy Lee, and "Don't Be Cruel" began a highly profitable association with Elvis Presley.
During an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman, Blackwell said he never met Presley in person. When he was having a contract dispute with his publishing company, he also wrote under the "white-sounding" pen name John Davenport. Blackwell composed more than a thousand songs, garnering worldwide sales of close to 200 million records. Blackwell composed more than a thousand songs, garnering worldwide sales of close to 200 million records. Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, asked Blackwell to appear in the Presley movie Girls! Girls! Girls!, for which he had written "Return to Sender", but a superstition about meeting Presley kept him from accepting.
Blackwell was one of the leading African-American figures of early rock and roll. In 1956, Blackwell gave "Don't Be Cruel" to friend Frankie Valli's group, but as they were recording it he asked to take it back and in turn gave it to the up-and-coming Presley. In exchange for this song, he gave them "You're the Apple of My Eye", which became a chart hit (Billboard number 64). The song was performed on Ed Sullivan's television show that same year and was probably instrumental in at least shaping events for the group to eventually becoming the Four Seasons. A shortened version of "You're the Apple of My Eye" is also featured in the Broadway show Jersey Boys.
As the tide of rock and roll receded, Blackwell recorded R&B songs for numerous labels, including Atlantic, MGM and Epic. In later years, he was in semi-retirement, making only occasional live appearances.
In the 1980s, Blackwell toured and recorded with the Smithereens as his backing band for both live shows and studio recordings. The partnership produced two self-funded albums, "Let's Talk About Us" and "From the Beginning", which were released independently on Blackwell's ROC-CO imprint.
In 1991, Blackwell was paralyzed by a stroke. Three years later, Shanachie released the album Brace Yourself! A Tribute to Otis Blackwell, containing 15 songs written by Blackwell and recorded by the likes of Kris Kristofferson ("All Shook Up"), Blondie's Debbie Harry ("Don't Be Cruel"), the Smithereens ("Let's Talk About Us"), Graham Parker ("Paralyzed"), and Ronnie Spector ("Brace Yourself").
Blackwell died of a heart attack in 2002, in Nashville, Tennessee, and was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in that city.
