Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true.

I don’t want no other love,

Baby it’s just you I’m thinking of

~Don’t be Cruel by Otis Blackwell / Elvis Presley

Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1932, Otis Blackwell helped redefine American pop music via 1,000+ songs that sold nearly 200 million records. On Christmas Eve 1955, he was standing in front of a music publishing company in New York City when an arranger approached him. Blackwell sold six songs for $25 each, including “Don't Be Cruel.” Elvis recorded ten Blackwell songs (half of them Top 25 hits) including “Fever,” “Paralyzed,” “Return to Sender” and “All Shook Up,” which spent 8 weeks at #1. An admirer of country-western music, Blackwell sang on the demos of his songs for Elvis, but the two never met.