WHO IS THE REAL 'KING OF ROCK & ROLL'?

Songwriters are to recording artists what shadows are to people, often unacknowledged in the background.

Born in Brooklyn in 1931, Otis Blackwell was a prolific songwriter and a talented pianist and singer, winning 'Amateur Night' at the Apollo Theater in 1952.

Despite being born at a time when Black people faced many obstacles in the US, particularly in an industry that was predominantly white, his undeniable talent made it difficult to ignore him. Blackwell's career catapulted when his 1955 demo tape found its way to the 'King of Rock & Roll,' Elvis Presley. He became the man behind Presley's most iconic hits, including two of the biggest: 'Don't Be Cruel' and 'All Shook Up.' Presley's delivery of Blackwell's songs mimicked the latter's style.

However, in this 1984 clip from his appearance on the 'Late Show with David Letterman,' Blackwell performed 'Don't Be Cruel,' in his style. Elvis’s version of the song was number one for seven consecutive weeks on Billboard's Top 100 pop chart in 1956.

Although Blackwell wrote songs for Presley for five years, the pair never met. On some of Blackwell’s songs, Presley is falsely credited as a ‘co-writer’. According to Blackwell, this 'seemed to have been the practice at that time,' he told Letterman, and had been a condition for working with Presley.

Blackwell became highly sought after, writing songs for other notable artists of the era like Jerry Lee Lewis, Dee Clark and Jimmy Jones. His lyricism was described by the rock & roll historian Peter Guralnick, as being 'so apt at getting across a sentiment that immediately clicked not just with the audience it reached, but with the singer.' Blackwell sold over 200 million copies of over 1,000 songs. 

Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986, the US-based National Academy of Popular Music's Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, Blackwell's contributions helped shape the sound of early rock & roll. He passed away in 2002, but is still celebrated for his gigantic contribution to the genre.  

Who do you think is the true 'King of Rock & Roll'? Let us know in the comments.