Tag Archives: Otis Blackwell

May 6 in music history

Happy birthday Bob Seger (born: May 6, 1945) – (read more)

Mediocrity’s easy, the good things take time, the great need commitment.
~Bob Seger, Lock And Loaded


That’s a good way to live, go against the wind.
~Bob Seger


Combining the driving charge of Ryder’s Detroit Wheels with Stonesy garage rock and devotion to hard-edged soul and R&B, he crafted a distinctively American sound.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

bob seger
 Today: Otis Blackwell passed away in 2002 – 11 years ago (read more)

I used to go down every year for the remembrance of Elvis’ birthday. Memphis State College invited me to sit in the auditorium and speak to the people for one of those Elvis days.
~Otis Blackwell


Blackwell’s songwriting style is as identifiable as that of Willie Dixon or Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller. He helped formulate the musical vocabulary of rock & roll when the genre was barely breathing on its own.
~Bill Dahl (allmusic.com)

 otis blackwell
 Jimmie Dale Gilmore (born May 6, 1945) is a country singer, songwriter, actor, recording artist and producer, currently living in Austin, Texas.
Gilmore is a native of the Texas Panhandle, having been born in Amarillo, Texas, and raised in Lubbock, Texas. His earliest musical influence was Hank Williams and the honky tonk brand of country music that his father played. In the 1950s, he was exposed to the emerging rock and roll of other Texans such as Roy Orbison and Lubbock native Buddy Holly, as well as to Johnny Cash. He was profoundly influenced in the 1960s by the likes of The Beatles and Bob Dylan and the folk music and blues revival in that decade.With Joe Ely and Butch Hancock, Gilmore founded The Flatlanders
 jimmy-dale Gilmore
 Marie Magdalene “Marlene” Dietrich (27 December 1901 – 6 May 1992) was a German actress and singer.  Marlene_Dietrich

Spotify Playlist – May 6

Today: Otis Blackwell passed away in 2002 – 11 years ago

otis blackwell

I like this town, it’s really great. They’ve put me in The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. This town is about music. It’s about the kind of music I like.
~Otis Blackwell

I used to go down every year for the remembrance of Elvis’ birthday. Memphis State College invited me to sit in the auditorium and speak to the people for one of those Elvis days.
~Otis Blackwell

Blackwell’s songwriting style is as identifiable as that of Willie Dixon or Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller. He helped formulate the musical vocabulary of rock & roll when the genre was barely breathing on its own.
~Bill Dahl (allmusic.com)

All Shook Up – Elvis Presley:

Great Balls Of Fire – Jerry Lee Lewis:

Wikipedia:

Also known as John Davenport
Born February 16, 1931
Origin Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died May 6, 2002 (aged 71)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres East Coast blues, rock and roll,R&B
Occupations Singer, pianist, songwriter
Instruments Piano
Years active 1950s–2002
Labels RCA, Groove, Atlantic

Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an 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.

Otis blackwell

Fever – Little Willie John:

Awards:

  • Otis Blackwell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986
  • in 1991 into the National Academy of Popular Music’s Songwriters Hall of Fame
  • Blackwell’s crowning moment came in the late 1980s when the Black Rock Coalition, a prominent organization of black rock musicians, led by Vernon Reid, the lead guitarist of the band, Living Colour, held a tribute for him at the Prospect Park Bandshell in his native Brooklyn. Many prominent musicians and singers took part including Blackwell himself, who performed an assortment of his best songs, including “One Broken Heart for Sale,” “Black Trail,” “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Daddy Rolling Stone.”
  • Blackwell was named one of the 2010 recipients of Ahmet Ertegun Award in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This category encompasses those who primarily work behind the scenes in the music industry.

 Don’t Be Cruel – Elvis Presley:

Spotify Playlist:

Other May-06

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