Rory Blackwell was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 musician, bandleader

Bandleader

A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....

 of The Blackjacks, singer, drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 and songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

.

Biography

Blackwell founded the first British rock and roll band, and put on rock and roll at Studio 51 in September 1956, and at the The 2i's Coffee Bar and on 24 January 1957 gave his very first job to Terry Dene

Terry Dene

Terry Dene is a former British pop singer popular in the late 1950s. He achieved three Top Twenty hits between June 1957 and May 1958.-Career:...

, then Terry Williams, fronting him at the Razzle Dazzle Club billed as 'the new' singing sensation Terry Williams'.

Rory and his Blackjacks starred in the 1957 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 Rock You Sinners. Directed by Dennis Kavanagh

Dennis Kavanagh

Dennis Kavanagh is a British political analyst and since 1996 has been Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool, and now Emeritus Professor. He has written extensively on post-war British politics...

, it also starred Art Baxter, Jackie Collins

Jackie Collins

Jacqueline Jill "Jackie" Collins is an English novelist and former actress. She is the younger sister of actress Joan Collins. She has written 28 novels, all of which have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. In total, her books have sold over 400 million copies and have been...

, and Tony Crombie

Tony Crombie

Anthony John "Tony" Crombie was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest jazz drummers and bandleaders, and occasional but very capable pianist and vibraphonist, to emerge in Britain, and as an energising influence on the British jazz scene...

.

In 1959, Blackwell spotted the 16 year old pianist Clive Powell (Georgie Fame

Georgie Fame

Georgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...

) in a summer holiday camp in Wales, where he offered him a job as a piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 player with The Blackjacks. After the season ended, Powell left as new opportunities arose.

They recorded "Bye Bye Love", later covered by The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...

. Blackwell had a number of successes with "Bony Moronie

Bony Moronie

"Bony Moronie" is Larry Williams' third single, which has been covered many times, including a version translated into Spanish re-named "Popotitos". Williams' original peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #4 on the U.S...

", "Red Roses", "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast", "Great Balls of Fire

Great Balls of Fire

"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 song recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie Jamboree. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer...

", and "Rory's Rock", then toured Europe and the UK with stars

Celebrity

A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...

 from the US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

In 1968, Rory Blackwell's 1968 Rock'n'roll Show Live (EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

/Parlophone

Parlophone

Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...

) was released with the tracks: "Let's Have a Party", "Rock Around the Clock

Rock Around the Clock

"Rock Around the Clock" is a 12-bar-blues-based song written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954...

", "Great Balls of Fire

Great Balls of Fire

"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 song recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie Jamboree. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer...

", "Be Bop a Lula", "Shake Rattle and Roll", "Hound Dog

Hound Dog (song)

"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952. Other early versions illustrate the differences among blues, country, and rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The 1956 remake by Elvis Presley is the best-known...

", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", "Bony Moronie", "Heartbreak Hotel

Heartbreak Hotel

"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American rock and roll musician Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. His first number-one pop record, "Heartbreak Hotel" topped Billboards Top 100 chart, became his first...

" and "Rory's Rock".

After the launching of the Apollo 11

Apollo 11

In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...

 in 1969, Blackwell wrote and released the orchestral piece Apollo 11 : Sea of Tranquility (EMI/Parlophone).

In 1978 another album was released, The Two Sides of Rory Blackwell (Ellie Jay Records) with tracks including "Bony Moronie", "Amarillo", "Teddy Bear", "Beatles Medley" and "Wipe Out".

He appeared in many television program

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

mes such as Six-Five Special

Six-Five Special

The Six-Five Special is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain.-Description:...

, Cool For Cats, and the Oh Boy!, where he acted with Lord Rockingham's XI

Lord Rockingham's XI

Lord Rockingham's XI was a group of British session musicians, led by Harry Robinson , who had a #1 hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1958 with "Hoots Mon"....

.

Later Blackwell toured with the Beach Boys and Plastic Ono Band as a drummer.

During the 1960s, Blackwell worked with the young bassist, Nick Simper

Nick Simper

Nicholas John Simper is a bass guitarist, best known as a founding member of Deep Purple.-Biography:...

, who later joined Johnny Kidd's band and went on to become one of the founding members of Deep Purple

Deep Purple

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...

.

He attempted many world records for charity, mainly involving feats of longevity or speed on musical instrument

Musical instrument

A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...

s. Many of these appeared in Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

editions, but musical feats are no longer featured in the same quantity as they were previously.

In the 1980s, Rory worked as the Entertainments Manager at the Welcome Family Holiday Park, Dawlish Warren, Devon where he continued pleasing the crowds and breaking drumming records.

According to a 2008 local news article, Blackwell is now retired and living in South Devon

South Devon

South Devon is the southern part of the county of Devon, England.South Devon may also refer to*South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty*South Devon *South Devon College*South Devon cattle, a breed of cattle...

.

Sources

• Andrews, Lindy, "From pithead sirens to jazz stage", Hawkes Bay Today 3 February 2007
• Herald Express, "The original rock 'n' roll star", 25 November 2008
• Spokane Chronicle, "Ex-Beach Boy Makes Waves With Musical World Record", 29 May 1985