- Born
- Died
- Otis Blackwell was a songwriter whose works included "Great Balls of Fire", "Fever", "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up". Born in Brooklyn in 1931, he grew up obsessed with the movies of Tex Ritter. After briefly singing in blues clubs, he signed with RCA in 1952 as a songwriter. With the royalties he collected from his songs, including those above, he was able to live his bon vivant lifestyle. He is survived by his wife and seven children.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- SpouseMamie Wiggins(? - May 6, 2002) (his death, 7 children)
- He wrote more than 1,000 songs that were recorded by performers such as Ray Charles, Billy Joel, The Who, James Taylor, Otis Redding, Peggy Lee and Jerry Lee Lewis. Some of Blackwell's other credits include "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", both recorded by Lewis; "Handy Man" by Taylor; "Fever" by Lee; "Daddy Rolling Stone" by The Who; and "Return to Sender", "Don't Be Cruel," and "All Shook Up", each recorded by Presley.
- Also wrote songs under name of John Davenport.
- Said in 1989 that his favorite singer had long been Tex Ritter (father of actor John Ritter).
- Voted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986.
- Won talent contest at Harlem's Apollo Theater as a teenager and was encouraged by NYC songwriter Doc Pomus. Wrote and sang own songs, played piano, but without much success until Chistmas, 1955 when he sold six tunes for total of $150. One of them was Elvis's #1 smash "Don't Be Cruel. Other hits for Elvis included "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender", but he never met 'The King'. Also recorded by James Taylor, Stevie Wonder and The Who.
- I wrote my songs, I got my money and I boogied.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
