Robert Blackwell

Robert Alexander "Bumps " Blackwell ( * May 23, 1918 in Seattle, Washington; † 27 January 1985 in Hacienda Heights, California ) was an American music producer and songwriter in the genres of rhythm and blues and rock ' n ' roll.

Bumps Blackwell was formed at the Conservatory and began his musical career in his hometown of Seattle on the piano of his own orchestra, which also houses the still largely unknown Ray Charles and Quincy Jones participated. He came in 1949 to Los Angeles, where in 1953 he offered his recordings for record labels to California and that why he got contacts with the local music industry. After a collaboration with Lou Adler and Herb Alpert it was the end of 1954 the A & R manager at Specialty Records, headed by Art Rupe, which was at that time the attention on gospel and rhythm and blues.

The breakthrough for the label and for Blackwell as a producer came when on February 17, 1955 arrived a demo tape of an unknown rock-' n' -rollers called Little Richard on Specialty Records in Hollywood. Blackwell and Rupe were impressed by this self-centered young man. For music recordings Blackwell and Little Richard traveled specially to New Orleans and booked it the J & M studio of Cosimo Matassa, including its renowned studio band. The first session took place on 13 and 14 September 1955 in the famous Tutti Frutti was born. Blackwell made ​​as a producer for the sound and intonation, Richard songs from the J & M Studio are identifiable to almost all of the following Little. Between 1955 and 1957, Blackwell composed a part of and produced the entirety of hit singles, Little Richard, until this 1957 retired from the rock 'n' roll business.

In Los Angeles, Blackwell worked mainly with gospel artists, especially the Soul Stirrers, with their lead singer Sam Cooke, he experimented with pop songs. This is not met with the approval from the label boss Rupe, so Blackwell's contract was terminated waiving royalties for recordings with Little Richard. Blackwell could instead take Cooke and his master tapes with the neighboring Keen Records where You Send Me a million success was.

After this cooperation was terminated in 1959, Blackwell went to Mercury Records, where he recorded with Little Richard, among other gospel recordings. Soon after, he hired at his protégé as a manager. In later years, Blackwell still looms as a co- producer on some recordings by Bob Dylan and Art Neville.

Discography

On some singles Specialty and Keen Blackwell is also found as an interpreter.