'50s rock heroes revisited

We fans of '50s rock 'n' roll all have our favorite artists from that heady era. I love Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Ritchie Valens. Others love Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Platters or Fats Domino. But there is one name that often gets overlooked when discussing the early days of rock 'n' roll -- Otis Blackwell. And that's unfortunate because Blackwell wrote many of the songs that propelled those favorite artists to stardom and fueled the fire of the '50s.\nRaised in Brooklyn, Blackwell longed to become a singer himself, but that opportunity never opened up for him. He managed to etch his name in history by penning songs that stand as early rock classics: Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless," Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up" and Little Willie John's "Fever" (later covered by Peggy Lee), to name a few.\nBlackwell's talents were rich and diverse; he blended country and rhythm and blues to create both flat-out ball-busters and perfectly crafted pop songs. That artists as divergent as wildman Lewis and pop princess Lee used his work as testimony to Blackwell's malleable style of songwriting.\nMy favorite Blackwell songs are, of course, the rockers recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis. Few songs from the '50s can match the power and hair-raising vitality of "Great Balls of Fire." While "Breathless" is actually Lewis' best cut (an underrated gem written by a man who never got the thanks due to him).\nOtis Blackwell may never receive adequate thanks. He died May 6 of a heart attack in Nashville, Tenn. He was 70. Nearly 50 years after helping pour the foundation of rock 'n' roll, he passed away without much fanfare or acknowledgement. A short obituary here, maybe a few seconds on cable television news. Time magazine gave him a paragraph.\nBut the memory of the 1950s and beyond is burnished by Blackwell and his songwriting legacy. As IU rock history Professor Glenn Gass told me in a recent email, "Otis Blackwell was amazing."\nHail, Hail Chuck Berry \nSpeaking of the '50s, I just caught 1987's "Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll" on American Movie Classics, and I was reminded of how phenomenal a flick it is. The documentary, directed by Taylor Hackford, celebrates Chuck Berry's 60th birthday with an all-star concert (organized by Berry's spiritual godson, Keith Richards) and testimonials from a dizzying array of rock legends, including Bo Diddley, Little Richard, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Roy Orbison.\nThe concert included performances by Etta James, Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, Linda Rondstadt and others. Interviews with Berry's parents, siblings, musical collaborators and business associates give us a glimpse of Berry's background, his love for the music and his complex character.\nOn a few occasions Berry gets testy with the interviewer, revealing an often prickly and sometimes conceited personality, which is tempered by sincerity, honesty and an incredible ability to tell a story in both words and song.\nFor fans of Chuck Berry, the movie is a revelation. It provides depth and complexity to a hero we have loved and admired for decades. The film seems even more important now that Berry has celebrated his 75th birthday. As fans, we just don't know how much time we have left with Chuck (and with Richard and Jerry Lee and Fats and all the other '50s greats). "Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll" lets us hold on just a little longer.\nAbove all, the movie fleshes out Berry's simple genius, his knack for capturing the spirit of America and the passions of several generations. So if you're out at the video store this weekend, pass up that lame Adam Sandler movie (it doesn't matter which one, they're all lame) and rent "Hail! Hail!" and rock out.