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Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an African-American songwriter, singer, and pianist, whose work significantly influenced rock and roll. His compositions include Little Willie John's "Fever", Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender" (with Winfield Scott), and Jimmy Jones' "Handy Man". He should not be confused with another songwriter and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell. ==Biography== Otis Blackwell was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, and died in Nashville, Tennessee. He learned piano as a child and grew up listening to both R&B and country music. He first became famous by winning a local talent contest ("Amateur Night") at the Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York in 1952,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Otis Blackwell (1931–2002) )〕 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.〔Trager, Oliver. ''Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia'', Billboard Books (2004), page 700 - ISBN 0-8230-7974-0〕 His first successes came in 1956 when Little Willie John's R&B hit with the sultry "Fever" was an even bigger pop success for Peggy Lee. Then, "Don't Be Cruel" began a highly profitable association with Elvis Presley. Blackwell was one of the leading African American figures of early rock 'n' roll, although he was not well known by the public. His own records never cracked the Top 40, yet he wrote million-selling songs for Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dee Clark and others. He also recruited other songwriters to write for Presley such as Winfield Scott.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Winfield Scott )〕 From the jacket liner notes of the ''Elvis' Golden Records'' (1958) Anne Fulchino from Radio Corporation of America wrote: "While sipping coffee, Steve Sholes pulled out a demonstration record of "Don't Be Cruel" and told Elvis it was a new song written by Otis Blackwell, whom Elvis had long admired as a rhythm and blues artist. It took just a few bars to convince Presley that it was a perfect song for him, and he decided to cut it right away. Presley learned the song within minutes—he has an inherent musical sense—and in short order a great master was put on tape. During an appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman," Blackwell said he'd 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 of "John Davenport",〔 Throughout his lifetime, Blackwell composed more than a thousand songs, garnering worldwide sales of close to 200 million records. Colonel Tom Parker, manager of Elvis asked Otis to appear in the Presley movie ''Girls! Girls! Girls!,'' for which he had written "Return to Sender," but the superstition about meeting Elvis kept him from accepting.〔Giddins, Gary. ''Riding on a Blue Note: Jazz and American'', Da Capo Press (2000), page 37〕 In 1956 Blackwell first gave "Don't Be Cruel" to friend Frankie Valli's group The Four Lovers but as they were recording it he asked to take it back and in turn gave it to an up-and-coming Elvis Presley. In exchange for this song he gave them "You're The Apple Of My Eye" which became a chart hit for the Four Lovers (Billboard #64). The song was performed on the Ed Sullivan 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 'n' roll receded, Blackwell recorded R&B material for numerous labels including Atlantic, MGM and Epic. In later years he was in semi-retirement, making only occasional live appearances. Otis Blackwell is the grandfather of Torian Brown. In 1991, Blackwell was left paralyzed by a stroke. Three years later, Shanachie released ''Brace Yourself! A Tribute to Otis Blackwell.'' The album features 15 Blackwell-penned tracks 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").〔(Billboard: Songwriter Otis Blackwell Dies )〕 Otis Blackwell died in 2002 of a heart attack and was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.〔(Find a Grave: Otis Blackwell )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Otis Blackwell」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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