#Otis Blackwell

[ultra-francesca-mercury]

february 16

1931 Otis Blackwell, composer of the seminal rock 'n roll tunes "Great Balls of Fire" and "All Shook Up," and the R&B sizzler "Fever," is born in Brooklyn, New York.

[hooked-on-elvis]

"I'm a Roustabout"

Unused soundtrack recording written by Otis Blackwell & Winfield Scott.

This song was recorded in March 3, 1964 at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, and it was meant to be a part of the soundtrack for the movie "Roustabout", released in 1964, but it was denied as such when producer Hal Wallis preferred "Roustabout", written by Bill Giant, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye, as the title song.

Here is the official title-song for the "Roustabout" movie:

"I'm a Roustabout" was first released only in October 2003, in the Elvis Presley compilation album, "2nd to None".

Which song do you prefer?

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Note: If you want a good review on this movie, I recommend you take a look on THIS REVIEW written by @deke-rivers-1957. JL has great in-depth reviews of many of Elvis' movie [on her way to cover all of them, hopefully -- (No pressure, friend lol ♥ Thank you for your work! I learn a lot from all your reviews)].

[schooloftuneage]

SCHOOL OF TUNEAGE: LESSON ONE. IN THE BEGINNING...

CLASS IS IN SESSION.

Good evening, my fellow freaks, fillies, and other assorted friends. I'm your deejay for the evening, Zee, and I'll be starting out this blog, this course, and this whole damn mission with a statement that some would consider to be moderately controversial.

Rock music is innately Black music.

Now, yes, we've had our share of crackers in the biz (myself included) but the FOUNDATIONS OF ROCK MUSIC, AND THE SONGS THAT MADE ROCK MUSIC WHAT IT IS, are primarily from Black artists.

Don't believe me? Let's delve in.

Early Rock and Roll was, at its core, a danceable, high-octane (for the time) fusion of Rhythm and Blues and Country. Now, I don't have to tell you how very Black-dominated R&B was, even at the time.

Consider this: Jimmy Preston's "Rock The Joint", from 1949.

Or, from 1946, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right".

BUT rock `n roll got passed off to the public vis-a-vis an acceptable, lilly-white proxy… Elvis Presley. Consider this, his seminal hit, 'You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog'.

Now, do you want to see something really awesome?

Elvis' version was a cover. A cover that he (and the recording industry) tried to pretend wasn't a cover.

Here's our first track of the week… the original.

That's BIG MAMA THORNTON, blues singer, the woman responsible for the trope codifier for rock `n roll… and, you will note, a woman singing quite a different song from Elvis' version. Big Mama's was a song of Black female empowerment, a song about telling a freeloading gigolo to hit the road, while Elvis' was sanitized into almost a Kidz Bop version. Hell, he sanitized it MORE than Kidz Bop sanitized "Lips of an Angel" (and more on THAT debacle another day).

And this was far from the only offense in Presley's resume.

Otis Blackwell was a prolific songwriter who originally sang many, many early rock songs. These included Jerry Lee Lewis' 'Great Balls of Fire', as well as Elvis' 'All Shook Up', 'Don't Be Cruel', and 'Return to Sender'. And these last three are probably the most damning indictment of the whitewashing of rock `n roll. Why?

That's why. Give that a close listen.

Elvis seemed to take his entire way of singing - his delivery, his inflection, everything - from Otis Blackwell. As you can see from Otis' album title there, "These are my songs!", he was at least able to attempt to claw back some recognition in later years, but - in the opinion of this berk - it was definitely a case of too little, too late.

We know now. History is damn clear on the topic. But for years, the industry hid behind the Great White Hype of Elvis, pretended he was an innovator instead of a repackager, and shut out the real innovators from their rightful recognition.

Perhaps it is ironic that in years to come - particularly in the late sixties and seventies - there would be a rising 'damn the man' rebellion baked into rock and roll. Or perhaps it would just be karma, ensuring that the sanitization of an inherently rebellious music made by an oppressed people would still carry their spirit.

For tonight, I leave you with another early rock track - what some people say is the first real rock song. Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm - Rocket 88.

Class dismissed.

And now we go to open conversation - we've got a survey out right now, check down the page. If you fill it out, I'll have a better idea of what topics everyone wants to cover. And of course, if you want to keep talking about what I covered above... please do.

[musickickztoo]

Otis Blackwell 

February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002

[odk-2]

Little Willie John - Fever (1956) Little Willie John with Orchestra Eddie Cooley / John Davenport (Otis Blackwell) from: "Fever" / "Letter from My Darling" (Single) "Fever" (LP)

Rhythm and Blues

Tumblr (left click = play) (320kbps)

Personnel: Little Willie John: Vocals Jon Thomas: Piano Ray Felder: Tenor Saxophone Rufus "Nose" Gore: Tenor Saxophone Bill Jennings: Guitar Edwyn Conley: Bass Edison Gore: Drums

Percussion/Finger Snaps: ?

Arranged and Produced by Henry Glover

Recorded: @ King Records Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio USA on March 1, 1956

Released: May, 1956

King Records

[cbjustmusic]

Elle King and The Black Keys honor Jerry Lee Lewis with a performance of “Great Balls of Fire”. ______________________ Great Balls of Fire Songwriters: Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain Too much love drives a man insane You broke my will But what a thrill Goodness gracious, great balls of fire

I laughed at love 'cause I thought it was funny But you came along and moved me honey I've changed my mind This love is fine Goodness gracious, great balls of fire

Kiss me baby Woo, it feels good Hold me baby, yeah You gotta let me love you like a lover should You're fine, so kind I'm gonna tell this world that your mine, mine, mine, mine

I chew my nails and I twiddle my thumbs I'm gettin' nervous honey but it sure is fun Come on baby, you drive me crazy Goodness gracious, great balls of fire

Woo Feels good, yeah Let me love you like a lover should You're fine, so kind I'ma tell this world that your mine, mine, mine, mine

I chew my nails and I twiddle my thumbs I'm really nervous but it sure is fun Come on baby, you drive me crazy Goodness gracious, great balls of fire

[history105rockandrollblog]

Lecture 4: Elvis Presley sings “Don’t Be Cruel” (written by Otis Blackwell) on The Ed Sullivan Show, January 6, 1957. Note that the camera is careful to film Elvis from the chest up, after the sensation his hip-gyrating appearance caused on the Milton Berle Show the previous year. Approximately 60 million television viewers tuned in to see this performance. He performed seven songs on the episode, including “Don’t Be Cruel,” which shot up to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. This was Elvis Presley’s third and final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show

[unhallowedarts]

I’d like to applaud Otis Blackwell, Eddie Cooley and Peggy Lee for writing the closest thing I’ve ever heard to a five-paragraph-essay song.

(Please note that I’m not here to discuss whether the thesis of the essay is CORRECT, nor to discuss the ethics or accuracy of the examples. This is just about the FORMAT of the essay. Feel free to analyze the content in another post.)

1. Hook: A personal anecdote that introduces the main idea of the essay

Never know how much I love you Never know how much I care When you put your arms around me I get a fever that's so hard to bear You give me fever

2. Thesis: Clearly stating the point illustrated by their anecdote:

Everybody's got the fever That is something you all know Fever isn't such a new thing Fever started long ago

3. Body Paragraph 1: Specific example with commentary to support the thesis.

’Romeo loved Juliet Juliet, she felt the same When he put his arms around her He said, "Julie, baby, you're my flame" Thou giveth fever

4. Body Paragraph 2: Specific example with commentary to support the thesis

Captain Smith and Pocahontas Had a very mad affair When her daddy tried to kill him She said, "Daddy, oh, don't you dare" He gives me fever

5. Conclusion: Restate your thesis

Now you've listened to my story Here's the point that I have made Chicks were born to give you fever Be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade They give you fever

My only note is of course that the hook here takes up two whole paragraphs, with a third for the thesis, while there are only two body paragraphs. For a more traditional five paragraph format, they should tighten up that hook to be more of a teaser, so the hook and thesis together can be paragraph one, Then they can add a third body paragraph where they expand on that personal story introduced in the hook. But considering they were PROBABLY not intending to turn this in for English class, they did a remarkably good job and damn do I wish I was still teaching so I could use this for an example. But I’m not, so tumblr gets to read it instead :P

[itsdpark]

All Shook Up

I am indeed feeling all shook up these days…Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yayMm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay I’m all shook up! I went to the latest Elvis movie with my Mom, both my parents were huge Elvis fans and we were introduced to The King at a very young age. Baz Luhrmann isn’t always my cup of tea, but with this movie he outdid himself or maybe Austin Butler’s performance just overwhelms any…

[onryou-onryou]

Harry Hosono & Tin Pan Alley in Chinatown (1976) FULL ALBUM

[julio-viernes]

“Let´s Talk About Us” sí fue cara A de single (Sun, 1959) y parte del LP “Jerry Lee´s Greatest” (Sun, 1961), una canción vacilona muy en la onda Elvis, no en vano es una composición del gran Otis Blackwell ("Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up", "Return to Sender"), creador además de “Breathless” y “Great Balls of Fire” para el propio “killer”. La canción nuevamente recibió una buena versión por parte de otro de los grupos punteros UK, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates.

[kvltklvb]

daddy rolling stone by otis blackwell

[mitjalovse]

The power pop style tends to be mocked. The reasons for such a behaviour are multifold, though my opinion might be that the idiom doesn't seem to be interested in the demolition of the old musical tropes. While the opposite of the latter could lead into a stagnation, I don't think we could blame the genre of power pop of something like this. For instance, Dave Edmunds – the link tells you I plan to discuss him – covered many early rock tunes, yet he did imbue the pieces with the sensibility of the time. However, the tastemakers probably wished for him to use the principles of deconstruction, but they forgot an important detail – the brand he played in served as a development of the 60's, the mode didn't intend to destroy the type in the vein of punk.

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire 1957

"Great Balls of Fire" is a song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The song was featured in a performance by Jerry Lee Lewis and his band in the 1957 Warner Brothers rock and roll film Jamboree.

It sold one million copies in its first 10 days of release in the US making it one of the best-selling singles in the US at that time. It reached number 2 on the Billboard pop charts, number 3 on the R&B charts, and number 1 on the country charts. It also reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and appeared on the New Zealand Singles Chart and the Dutch Top 40. It was ranked as the 96th greatest song ever by Rolling Stone. In 1998, "Great Balls of Fire" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In the 1986 film Top Gun, LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) plays the song in a bar with his family and Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise). The song is performed again in the sequel, the 2022 film Top Gun: Maverick by Goose's son LT Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller).

"Great Balls of Fire" received a total of 75,4% yes votes!

[hooked-on-elvis]

"One Broken Heart For Sale"

"One Broken Heart For Sale" is a song written by Otis Blackwell & Winfield Scott and recorded by Elvis Presley in September 22, 1962 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, CA.

The song was first released as a single in January 29, 1963, A-side, with opposite track (B-side) being "They Remind Me Too Much of You" (written by Don Robertson); both songs were included in the soundtrack album "It Happened At the World's Fair" released in April 10, 1963, a few days after the movie was released (April 3, 1963).

Soundtrack album "It Happened At the World's Fair" released in April 10, 1963.

[doyourememberrocknrollradio]

All Shook Up · Otis Blackwell