... She was the wife … Blackwell wrote Great Balls of Fire, sharing the songwriting credits with “Jack Hammer.” Below is a photo of Otis Blackwell composing at a piano, taken circa 1957. Otis Blackwell, the prolific songwriter who helped propel the careers of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, died Wednesday, May 9 in Nashville. The unsung Blackwell (who also wrote "Fever" and "Great Balls of Fire") was one of a handful of people in rock history on whom Doc bestowed the title of genius. They uncover criminals that are an old enemies of Lt. Castillo and have also kidnapped Castillo's long-lost wife. Crockett and Tubbs work undercover in a hotel. Blackwell was 70.He had been in the St. Thomas emergency room several times recently, the Nashville Tennessean reported. Otis Blackwell. Songwriter, musician. 2002: Otis Blackwell, ... English actress known best to American audiences for her role as Gregory Peck’s wife in the Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Paradine Case,” dies at 84. Directed by Georg Stanford Brown. The Rev. Tim Hassler will officiate with burial at Fairview Baptist Church Cemetery. Mr. Blackwell was a member of … Stone passed away in 1999, at the ripe old age of 97. [You learned about this in Theme: Introduction to the Humanities (all learning blocks) and in learning block 3-3] and, in fact, the creator of “All Shook Up,” Otis Blackwell, was an African-American songwriter, while the song was sung by the white Elvis Presley. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Songwriter Otis Blackwell, whose tunes Don't Be Cruel and Great Balls of Fire became smash hits for Elvis Presley and Jerry … He kept up the barrage of rowdy and unadulterated rock with the US/UK Top 10 single ‘Breathless’, which, like its predecessor, had been written by Otis Blackwell. With Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, Saundra Santiago, Michael Talbott. Otis Blackwell came alive by 2 am, reenacting his original demos for Elvis as he loosened the white handkerchief around his sweaty neck. he was hospitalized for the last time, said his wife, the singer Evelyn McGee Stone, he began writing a new song. Case requested that Blackwell write a tune with this name, intending for it to be used in the 1957 rock ‘n roll movie Jamboree. OTIS BLACKWELL, SONGWRITER NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Otis Blackwell, who wrote dozens of hit songs, including "Don't Be Cruel" for Elvis Presley, died Monday of a heart attack. Funeral services will be held 2:00 p.m., Sunday at Collier-Butler Funeral Home for Otis Richard Blackwell, 83, Gadsden, who died Thursday, February 24, 2011. As a songwriter, Otis Blackwell played a key role in the development of rock and roll, on a par with such tunesmiths as Jerry Lieber & Mike Stoller and Chuck Berry.Composing more than 1000 songs, the former R&B performer made his greatest contributions composing memorable anthems for early rock and roll artists Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. So he in turn contacted colleague Otis Blackwell. Otis Blackwell Otis Blackwell wrote as many as a thousand songs over his lifetime, and they’re said to have sold more than 200 million copies. The cause of death was an apparent heart attack, according to a spokesman for St. Thomas Hospital.