Otis Blackwell was born in Brooklyn, New York, 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, 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. 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, "All Shook Up" (first recorded by David Hill on Aladdin) began a highly profitable association with Elvis Presley, who was credited as co-writer. There was a distinct similarity between Blackwell's vocal style and Presley's, which has led to speculation that Elvis adopted some of his songwriter's mannerisms. From 1956 through the early 1960s, they fed off each other's talent, sharing a close musical affinity and, more incredibly, a vocal style so similar as to be eerie. "If you compare the demos with the records, you'll see that Presley's voice was practically an exact copy." 　　 　　Blackwell was one of the leading 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. 　　 　　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. 　　 　　It isn't often that the title of a song will create a whole new expression in Americana. "All Shook Up" did exactly that. Youngsters and adults alike have made the phrase a common part of everyday usage. The background to the song itself is a rather interesting one. Since the huge success of "Don't Be Cruel", Elvis had been anxious to record another song from the pen of Otis Blackwell. Eventually, Blackwell came around with "All Shook Up." Presley wasn't completely satisfied with the song, and with Blackwell's consent re-wrote part of the lyrics. Thus, as co-writer as well as artist, Presley produced his ninth consecutive gold record, his first in the year 1957." 　　 　　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. 　　 　　Many of the songs Blackwell wrote also listed the recording artist and others as co-writers. This was the prevailing practise at the time, because the only royalties an artist could be sure of receiving were those from song-writing. That was the price a writer paid for having top-selling talent record their work. 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").Otis Blackwell died in 2002 of a heart attack and was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.