Otis Blackwell

American blues pianist, singer, and songwriter

• Born: February 16, 1932
• Birthplace: New York, New York
• Died: May 6, 2002
• Place of death: Nashville, Tennessee

A prolific songwriter during the early years of rock and roll, Blackwell wrote many classics, including Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” and Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Great Balls of Fire.”

The Life

Otis Blackwell’s introduction to music was gospel songs his family sang at home. While working as an usher in a Brooklyn motion-picture theater, Blackwell took an interest in the career of his favorite singer, Tex Ritter, a singing cowboy of the 1940’s. Later, Blackwell won a talent contest at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem. While working as a presser in a Brooklyn tailor shop, he began singing, in New York clubs, songs that had been recorded by Larry Darnell and Chuck Willis. He was signed by RCA Victor in 1952, switching to Joe Davis’s Jay-Dee label the following year and recording the hit “Daddy Rollin’ Stone.” Because Davis paid him only twenty-five dollars a week, Blackwell augmented his income by writing songs for other singers.

On December 24, 1955, Blackwell sold six songs for $150. When one, “Don’t Be Cruel,” became a hit for Elvis Presley in 1956, the demand for Blackwell’s writing skills increased. Few of those who kept “Don’t Be Cruel” and its flip side, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller’s “Hound Dog,” at number one on the pop charts for eleven weeks suspected that its creator was an African American.

Though the two never met because the songwriter feared their working relationship would collapse if he did not like Presley, Blackwell wrote for the popular singer such hits as “All Shook Up,” “Paralyzed,” and “Return to Sender.” As stipulated in the contract, Presley received cowriting credit for those songs. Many of Blackwell’s songs were written with others, and some were composed under pseudonyms, because of his contract with Jay-Dee, and that complicates compiling an accurate account of his work. One of his most lasting songs, “Fever,” was cowritten with Eddie Cooley under the name John Davenport, after Blackwell’s stepfather. In addition to Cooley, Blackwell collaborated with Jack Hammer and Winfield Scott.

Blackwell’s other hits during the 1950’s and early 1960’s included “Great Balls of Fire” and “Breathless” for Jerry Lee Lewis, “Just Keep It Up” for Dee Clark, and “Handy Man” for Jimmy Jones. He wrote Clark’s “Hey Little Girl” for his childhood sweetheart, Josephine Peoples, who became his wife and the mother of his seven children.

Others who recorded Blackwell’s songs included Pat Boone, Solomon Burke, the Coasters, Bobby Darin, Ben E. King, Clyde McPhatter, and Gene Vincent. Blackwell also produced recordings by Connie Francis and Mahalia Jackson, and he even gave actorSal Mineo a hit song. When rock groups, inspired by the Beatles, began writing their own songs, Blackwell’s influence diminished.

In 1976 Blackwell recorded All Shook Up, a collection of his hits, and toured. Because he recorded frequently in Nashville, he moved there in 1988, opened an office, and provided free advice for struggling songwriters. Shortly after marrying his second wife, Mamie Wiggins, in 1991, Blackwell suffered a stroke, leaving him paralyzed and having to communicate through a computer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991 and received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1994. Blackwell died of a heart attack in Nashville in 2002.

The Music

Blackwell combined elements of country music and rhythm and blues, particularly in the songs he wrote for Presley and Lewis, with driving tempi and simple, catchy lyrics. The songs were essentially more danceable variations of country songs.

“Don’t Be Cruel.” “Don’t Be Cruel” was a perfect match for Presley’s alternately snarling and smooth style. With a greater vocal range than most of the singers of Blackwell’s songs, Presley easily shifted from a high pitch to a smooth baritone on “Don’t Be Cruel.” Blackwell’s lyrics perfectly matched rock and roll, the music of youthful rebellion.

As was the practice of the day, Blackwell recorded demonstration versions of the songs he wrote for Presley, and some sources, such as Stoller, claim that Presley, as well as Lewis and others, copied the songwriter’s vocal inflections. Blackwell said Presley had him record demos of songs written by others, such as “Teddy Bear,” in order to imitate Blackwell’s styling.

“All Shook Up.” One of Presley’s biggest hits, “All Shook Up,” was a prime example of the rock and country merger known as rockabilly. In this song Presley constantly altered the tempo—speeding up, slowing down, and pausing—and mingled nonverbal sounds with the lyrics. The song’s broad appeal resulted in its climbing to number one on the pop, country, and rhythm-and-blues charts. “All Shook Up” embodied both the physical gyrations made famous by Presley and the powerful emotional and sexual effect he had on his fans. Blackwell created a perfect song for the king of rock and roll.

“Great Balls of Fire.” “Great Balls of Fire” is arguably Blackwell’s greatest rock anthem. With Lewis’s patented pumping piano style, “Great Balls of Fire” demonstrated that love songs had entered a new age. The sedate “moon” and “June” love-song lyrics were replaced by a rampaging passion, threatening, as with “All Shook Up,” to consume the singer. Just as “All Shook Up” conveys the image of the hip-shaking Presley, “Great Balls of Fire” captures Lewis’s hair-flopping, keyboard-pounding intensity.

“Handy Man.” Blackwell’s “Handy Man” was a hit three times: for Jimmy Jones in 1959, for Del Shannon in a raucous version in 1964, and for James Taylor as a tender ballad in 1977. Such style flexibility shows the genius of Blackwell’s songwriting.

“Fever.” Blackwell’s most famous song is closer to jazz than rock and roll. “Fever” was first recorded by Little Willie John in 1956, hitting number one on the rhythm-and-blues charts. However, when Peggy Lee gave it her distinctive sultry spin two years later, the song became a pop classic. In the conservative 1950’s, “Fever” was notable for its sexual suggestiveness.

Musical Legacy

By blending an array of influences, Blackwell enriched the burgeoning genre of rock and roll. Along with Chuck Berry and Sam Cooke, he was one of a handful of black songwriters who paved the way for such genres as soul and rap. Accepting an award in 1976, Stevie Wonder acknowledged his debt to Blackwell. The versatility of Blackwell’s music is illustrated by the diverse performers who have recorded his songs: Michael Bublé, Cheap Trick, Rita Coolidge, Budd Guy, Billy Joel, Madonna, Dolly Parton, the Who, and Johnny Winter. A 1994 tribute to Blackwell, Brace Yourself, included new recordings by Dave Edmunds, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Kris Kristofferson, Graham Parker, Jon Spencer, Ronnie Spector, and others.

Principal Recordings

albums:Singin’ the Blues, 1956; These Are My Songs, 1978; All Shook Up, recorded 1976, released 1995; They Called It Rock ’n’ Roll, 2003.

Bibliography

Giddins, Gary. “Just How Much Did Elvis Learn from Otis Blackwell?” In Riding on a Blue Note: Jazz and American Pop. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. Examines Presley’s debt to Blackwell as songwriter and singer and explains how Blackwell’s style grew out of the minstrel tradition. Includes an interview with Blackwell.

Strauss, Neil. “Otis Blackwell.” Rolling Stone (June 20, 2002): 35. Overview of Blackwell’s life, with a discussion on the origins of “All Shook Up.”

Tosches, Nick. Country: Living Legends and Dying Metaphors in America’s Biggest Music. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1985. Brief assessment of Presley’s debt to Blackwell.