Otis Blackwell (16 February 1931 - 6 May 2002) was a songwriter, singer, and pianist whose work significantly influenced rock'n'roll in the 1950s. He 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. February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... May 6 is the 125126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search A songwriter is someone who writes, in part or in full, the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... LeAnn Rimes singing in concert For other senses of this word, see singer (disambiguation). ... A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ... Rock and roll (also spelled rock n roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Jump to: navigation, search // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the... For other meanings, see Brooklyn (disambiguation). ... Jump to: navigation, search The Nashville skyline Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... The Apollo Theater is one of the most famous clubs for popular music in the United States, and certainly the most famous club associated almost exclusively with African-American performers. ... This article is about the Harlem neighborhood in New York City. ...

Although he composed many songs that became hits, they did not do so under his own name, but that of others. This may have been due to the pervading climate of racial prejudice, as is shown by his use of the "white-sounding pseudonym John Davenport," [1] 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.

The songs that Blackwell had written for Elvis also had Elvis listen as co-writer because Col. Tom Parker thought it was an insult to have a black man get full profit for the songs. Presley and Parker lessened Blackwell's profit by adding Elvis's name to the publishing.

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. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. ... The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. ...

Otis Blackwell passed away in 2002 and was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville. Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 660 Thompson Lane in Nashville, Tennessee. ...

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)
• "Handy Man" (Jimmy Jones, James Taylor)

All Shook Up is one of the many hit songs of Elvis Presley. ... Jump to: navigation, search Elvis Presley Elvis Aron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known as The King of Rock and Roll (sometimes shortened to The King) was an American singer and actor. ... Dont be Cruel is a song by Otis Blackwell, which was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1956. ... Jump to: navigation, search Hyperthermia: Characterized on the left. ... Peggy Lee (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002) was an American popular music singer. ... Spoiler warning: Great Balls of Fire is a 1989 movie starring Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder. ... Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, and pianist, as well as an early pioneer of the rock and roll movement. ... Jimmy Jones (born June 2, 1937 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an African American singer and songwriter. ... The Best of James Taylor album cover James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Boston, Massachusetts. ...

External links

• Spectropop obituary
• Infoplease
• 1979 interview