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Robert 'Bumps' Blackwell (May 23, 1922 - March 9, 1985) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 songwriter
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
, arranger
Arrangement

In music, an arrangement is either a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet....
, and record producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
, best known for his work overseeing the early hits
Hit record

A Hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a Single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay , Nightclub, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings....
 of Little Richard
Little Richard

Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman , better known by the stage name Little Richard, is anAmerican singer, songwriter and pianist. He is considered a key figure in the transition from Rhythm and blues to Rock and roll in the 1950s....
. He should not be confused with another songwriter: Otis Blackwell
Otis Blackwell

Otis Blackwell was an United States songwriter, singer, and pianist whose work significantly influenced Rock and roll. His compositions include Little Willie John's "Fever ", Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender " , and Jimmy Jones' "Handy Man"....
.

Robert Alexander Blackwell in Seattle, Washington
Washington

Washington is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute....
, in the late 1940s he led a jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 group that included pianist
Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an musical ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
  Ray Charles
Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson , known by his stage name Ray Charles, was an United States pianist, singer, and songwriter who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues....
 and trumpet
Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
er Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones

Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. , is an United States music Conductor , record producer, musical arranger, film composer and trumpeter. During five decades in the entertainment industry, Jones has earned a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991....
. He moved to Hollywood, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
 to continue study composition, but he instead took a job at Art Rupe
Art Rupe

Arthur N. Rupe started Specialty Records in Los Angeles in 1946. Specialty is noted for the rhythm & blues, blues, gospel and early rock & roll music recordings....
's Specialty Records
Specialty Records

Specialty Records was an United States record label based in Los Angeles. It was originally launched as Juke Box Records in 1946 in music, but later renamed by its owner Art Rupe when he parted company with a couple of his original partners....
 as an arranger and producer.






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Encyclopedia


Robert 'Bumps' Blackwell (May 23, 1922 - March 9, 1985) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 songwriter
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
, arranger
Arrangement

In music, an arrangement is either a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet....
, and record producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
, best known for his work overseeing the early hits
Hit record

A Hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a Single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay , Nightclub, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings....
 of Little Richard
Little Richard

Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman , better known by the stage name Little Richard, is anAmerican singer, songwriter and pianist. He is considered a key figure in the transition from Rhythm and blues to Rock and roll in the 1950s....
. He should not be confused with another songwriter: Otis Blackwell
Otis Blackwell

Otis Blackwell was an United States songwriter, singer, and pianist whose work significantly influenced Rock and roll. His compositions include Little Willie John's "Fever ", Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender " , and Jimmy Jones' "Handy Man"....
.

Biography

Born Robert Alexander Blackwell in Seattle, Washington
Washington

Washington is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute....
, in the late 1940s he led a jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 group that included pianist
Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an musical ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
  Ray Charles
Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson , known by his stage name Ray Charles, was an United States pianist, singer, and songwriter who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues....
 and trumpet
Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
er Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones

Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. , is an United States music Conductor , record producer, musical arranger, film composer and trumpeter. During five decades in the entertainment industry, Jones has earned a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991....
. He moved to Hollywood, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
 to continue study composition, but he instead took a job at Art Rupe
Art Rupe

Arthur N. Rupe started Specialty Records in Los Angeles in 1946. Specialty is noted for the rhythm & blues, blues, gospel and early rock & roll music recordings....
's Specialty Records
Specialty Records

Specialty Records was an United States record label based in Los Angeles. It was originally launched as Juke Box Records in 1946 in music, but later renamed by its owner Art Rupe when he parted company with a couple of his original partners....
 as an arranger and producer. He worked with Larry Williams
Larry Williams

Larry Williams was an United States rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana, Louisiana. Williams is best known for writing and sound recording and reproduction some rock and roll Traditional pop musics from 1957 to 1959 for Specialty Records, including "Short Fat Fannie", "Bony Moronie" a...
, Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price

Lloyd Price is an American vocalist. His first sound recording and reproduction, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" was a huge hit single on Specialty Records in 1952, and although he continued to turn out gramophone record, none were as popular until several years later, when he refined the New Orleans beat and achieved a series of national hits....
 and Guitar Slim
Guitar Slim

Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones was a New Orleans blues guitar player from the 1940s and 1950s best known for the million-selling song produced by Johnny Vincent at Specialty Records, "The Things That I Used to Do", a song that is listed in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll....
 before "discovering" Little Richard in 1955.

Blackwell produced and co-wrote hits for Little Richard including: "Long Tall Sally
Long Tall Sally

"Long Tall Sally" is a rock and roll 12-bar blues song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson and Richard Penniman , recorded by Little Richard and released March 1956 on the Specialty Records label....
"; "Good Golly Miss Molly"; "Ready Teddy"; and "Rip It Up
Rip It Up (song)

Rip It Up is a song written by Robert Blackwell and John Marascalco. It was first released by Bill Haley and his Comets and Little Richard in 1956....
". They all quickly became rock and roll
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 standard
Traditional pop music

Traditional pop or Classic pop or Standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll, and its offshoots, as the domina...
s, and have subsequently been covered
Cover version

In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
 by hundreds of artists
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
 including Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was an United Statesn singer, actor, and musician. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "Elvis", and is also sometimes referred to as "List of honorific titles in popular music" or "The King"....
, The Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
 and Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater Revival was an United States rock and roll band who gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various Studio album....
.

He also produced Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke

Samuel Cook, better known as Sam Cooke, was an United States gospel music, R&B, soul music, and popular music singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur....
's hit "You Send Me
You Send Me

"You Send Me" is a 1957 in music single by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. The song was his first secular single released through Keen Records, an imprint of RCA Victor Records....
". Blackwell left Specialty in 1957, taking Sam Cooke with him to Keen Records
Keen Records

Keen Records was founded by John and Alex Siamas in 1957 in Los Angeles as a side business. John Siamas was a very successful businessman in the aerospace industry, and, as a music aficionado, started Keen as a side business....
. He was the West Coast
West Coast of the United States

The "West Coast", "Western Seaboard", or "Pacific Coastline" are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. It most often comprises California, Oregon and Washington....
 A&R
A&R

Artists and Repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and the artistic development of recording artists....
 director for Mercury Records
Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US, and are both subsidiaries of Universal Music Group....
 from 1959 to 1963, and produced Little Richard's gospel
Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
 recordings
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
 for that label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
. He became Richard's manager
Management

Management in business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leadership or directing, and Control an organization or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal....
 and continued to work with him into the 1970s.

In 1981 Blackwell produced some songs for Bob Dylan's album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
, Shot of Love
Shot of Love

Shot of Love is Bob Dylan's 21st studio album, released by Columbia Records in 1981.It is generally considered to be Dylan's last overtly religious, Christian album....
, including the title track.

Blackwell died at his home in Hacienda Heights
Hacienda Heights, California

Hacienda Heights is an unincorporated census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the community had a total population of 53,122....
 in Whittier, California
Whittier, California

Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 83,680....
 in 1985 of pneumonia
Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an Inflammation illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolus inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid ....
.

Selective discography


As co-writer and producer

  • 1956 "Long Tall Sally
    Long Tall Sally

    "Long Tall Sally" is a rock and roll 12-bar blues song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson and Richard Penniman , recorded by Little Richard and released March 1956 on the Specialty Records label....
    " (Blackwell/Johnson/Penniman
    Little Richard

    Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman , better known by the stage name Little Richard, is anAmerican singer, songwriter and pianist. He is considered a key figure in the transition from Rhythm and blues to Rock and roll in the 1950s....
    ) - Little Richard
    Little Richard

    Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman , better known by the stage name Little Richard, is anAmerican singer, songwriter and pianist. He is considered a key figure in the transition from Rhythm and blues to Rock and roll in the 1950s....
    , U.S. Pop
    Billboard Hot 100

    The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
     #6, UK
    UK Singles Chart

    The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
     #3
  • 1956 "Ready Teddy" (Blackwell/Marascalco
    John Marascalco

    John Marascalco is an United States songwriter, who is most noted for his collaborations with Robert Blackwell. Marascalco had a hand in some of the big Rhythm and blues and rock and roll hit record of the 1950s and 1960s....
    ) - Little Richard, U.S. Pop #44
  • 1956 "Rip It Up
    Rip It Up (song)

    Rip It Up is a song written by Robert Blackwell and John Marascalco. It was first released by Bill Haley and his Comets and Little Richard in 1956....
    " " (Blackwell/Marascalco) - Little Richard, U.S. Pop #17, UK #30
  • 1958 "Good Golly Miss Molly" (Blackwell/Marascalco) - Little Richard, U.S. Pop #10, UK #8


As producer

  • 1957 "You Send Me
    You Send Me

    "You Send Me" is a 1957 in music single by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. The song was his first secular single released through Keen Records, an imprint of RCA Victor Records....
    " (Sam Cooke
    Sam Cooke

    Samuel Cook, better known as Sam Cooke, was an United States gospel music, R&B, soul music, and popular music singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur....
    ), U.S. Pop #1, UK #29
  • 1981 "Shot of Love
    Shot of Love

    Shot of Love is Bob Dylan's 21st studio album, released by Columbia Records in 1981.It is generally considered to be Dylan's last overtly religious, Christian album....
    " (Bob Dylan)


External links