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Otis Blackwell

 


Songwriter, singer, record producer and pianist Otis Blackwell, also known as John Davenport, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 16 February 1931. He learned to play piano and was a child prodigy. In 1952 he won a talent contest at Harlem's Apollo Theatre, and secured a contract with RCA Records. The first of his compositions, "Daddy Rolling Stone", was a success and was recorded in Jamaica by Derek Martin. Blackwell went on to write many songs including "Fever" and "Don't Be Cruel". He composed more than 1,000 songs, which notched up record sales of nearly 200 millions. Presley's version of "Don't Be Cruel" was so successful, Blackwell became superstitious and deliberately avoided meeting Presley. He is widely regarded as one of the main creative figures of rock and roll and rhythm and blues music.

After suffering a stroke in 1991, Mr Blackwell died in Nashville, Tennessee, on 6 May 2002.

Image: Business Insider

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