Robert Blackwell

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Robert Alexander (Bumps) Blackwell (23 May, 1922 - 9 March, 1985) was an American songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work overseeing the early hits of Little Richard. He should not be confused with another songwriter: Otis Blackwell.

Born in Seattle, Washington, in the late 1940s he led a jazz group that included pianist Ray Charles and trumpeter Quincy Jones. He moved to Hollywood to continue study composition but he instead took a job at Art Rupe's Specialty Records as an arranger and producer. He worked with Larry Williams, Lloyd Price and Guitar Slim before "discovering" Little Richard in 1955.

Blackwell produced and co-wrote hits for Little Richard including: "Long Tall Sally"; "Good Golly, Miss Molly"; "Ready Teddy"; and "Rip It Up". They all quickly became rock 'n' roll standards, and have subsequently been covered by hundreds of artists including Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

He also produced Sam Cooke's hit "You Send Me".^[1] Blackwell left Specialty in 1957, taking Sam Cooke with him to Keen Records. He was the West Coast A&R director for Mercury Records from 1959 to 1963, and produced Little Richard's gospel recordings for that label. He became Richard's manager and continued to work with him into the 1970s.

In 1981 Blackwell produced some songs for Bob Dylan's album Shot of Love, including the title track.

Blackwell died in Whittier, California in 1985.

1 Selective discography
- 1.1 As co-writer and producer
- 1.2 As producer
2 References
3 External links

[edit] Selective discography

[edit] As co-writer and producer

1956 "Long Tall Sally" (Blackwell/Johnson/Penniman) - Little Richard, US Pop #6, UK Pop #3
1956 "Ready Teddy" (Blackwell/Marascalco) - Little Richard, US Pop #44
1956 "Rip It Up" " (Blackwell/Marascalco) - Little Richard, US Pop #17, UK Pop #30
1958 "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (Blackwell/Marascalco) - Little Richard, US Pop #10, UK Pop #8