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Robert Alexander "Bumps" Blackwell (May 23, 1918 – March 9, 1985) was an American bandleader, songwriter, arranger, and record producer,[1] best known for his work overseeing the early hits of Little Richard, as well as grooming Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson, Lloyd Price, Sam Cooke, Herb Alpert, Larry Williams, and Sly and the Family Stone at the start of their music careers.[2][3]
Robert Blackwell
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert Alexander Blackwell |
| Also known as | Bumps Blackwell |
| Born | (1918-05-23)May 23, 1918 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | March 9, 1985(1985-03-09) (aged 66) Hacienda Heights, California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1940s–1980s |
Born in Seattle, Washington,[1] Blackwell led a jazz group in the late 1940s that included pianist Ray Charles and trumpeter Quincy Jones.[4][5][6] He moved to Hollywood, California, to continue studying composition, but he instead took a job at Art Rupe's Specialty Records as an arranger and producer.[1] He worked with Sam Cooke, Larry Williams, Lloyd Price and Guitar Slim, as well as producing Little Richard during his rise to stardom in 1955 and 1956.[1]
In addition to producing Little Richard's breakthrough hit "Tutti Frutti" following hearing him sing the song in the studio, Blackwell also produced Little Richard's other mid-1950s hits, co-writing some of them as well, including "Long Tall Sally", "Good Golly Miss Molly", "Ready Teddy", and "Rip It Up".[1] They all quickly became rock and 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".[7] Blackwell left Specialty in 1957, taking Sam Cooke with him to Keen Records.[1] He was the West Coast A&R director for Mercury Records from 1959 to 1963, and produced about an album's worth of Little Richard's gospel recordings for that label. "He got what he Wanted (But he lost what he Had)" was a big hit overseas, contemporaneously with his tour of Europe, with the Beatles as his opening act. He became Richard's manager and continued to work with him into the 1970s.[1]
In 1981, Blackwell produced some songs for Bob Dylan's album Shot of Love, including the title track.[1]
In 1985, he issued a 12-inch single called "Give it Up - Pay Little Richard", following Richard's latest comeback the year before .
Blackwell died at his home in Hacienda Heights, California, in 1985 of pneumonia.[1][8]