UK collection. Otis Blackwell's stellar songwriting career spans 20 years in American music, and embraces more all-time classics than most writers could have ever dreamed about penning. If Blackwell had only written 'All Shook Up', 'Fever' and 'Don't Be Cruel', he would have earned his place in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame on the strength of these songs alone. He was one of Elvis' favourite songwriters and he provided the King with an impressive number of hits between 1956 and 1963. The awe in which Blackwell was held by his peers can be measured by the number of star names (including Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Cliff Richard and Gene Pitney) who are singing his songs on Handy Man. His transition as a writer can be mapped by these 24 titles - many of which are new to CD - which chart his path from R&B tunesmith to Soul songsmith via many of his Rock 'n' Roll classics. It was hard to distil the incredible number of great Blackwell copyrights into the two dozen featured here - there's plenty of scope for a volume two if sales demand it.
12 Nine Times Out of Ten - Cliff Richard and the Shadows
13 I'll Find You - Gene Pitney
14 For My Good Fortune - Mahalia Jackson
15 Hey Little Girl - Thurston Harris
16 Honky Tonky - the Queen (Dinah Washington)
17 Please, Mister Mayor - Roy Clark
18 Just Keep It Up (And See What Happens) - Dee Clark
19 Too Long Will Be Too Late - Jimmy Jones
20 One Broken Heart for Sale (Demo) - Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott
21 Daddy Rollin' Stone - Derek Martin
22 I Feel Good All Over - Sam Butera and the Witnesses
23 Home in Your Heart - Solomon Burke
24 Handy Man - Del Shannon
UK collection. Otis Blackwell's stellar songwriting career spans 20 years in American music, and embraces more all-time classics than most writers could have ever dreamed about penning. If Blackwell had only written 'All Shook Up', 'Fever' and 'Don't Be Cruel', he would have earned his place in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame on the strength of these songs alone. He was one of Elvis' favourite songwriters and he provided the King with an impressive number of hits between 1956 and 1963. The awe in which Blackwell was held by his peers can be measured by the number of star names (including Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Cliff Richard and Gene Pitney) who are singing his songs on Handy Man. His transition as a writer can be mapped by these 24 titles - many of which are new to CD - which chart his path from R&B tunesmith to Soul songsmith via many of his Rock 'n' Roll classics. It was hard to distil the incredible number of great Blackwell copyrights into the two dozen featured here - there's plenty of scope for a volume two if sales demand it.