Otis Blackwell
Otis Blackwell (16 February 1931 - 6 May 2002) was a songwriter, singer, and pianist whose work significantly influenced rock'n'roll in the 1950's. 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.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] his stepfather. Throughout his lifetime, Blackwell composed more than a thousand songs, and was inducted into the National Academy of Popular Music's Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991.
Songs he composed, with the performer whom made them famous, include:
- All Shook Up (Elvis Presley)
- Don't Be Cruel (Elvis Presley)
- Fever as John Davenport (Eddie Cooley)
- Great Balls of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis)
- Handy Man (James Taylor)