I don't know why this CD is not well known, and rated low by someone. I think it is really good. Otis Blackwell is perhaps the least known of all major rock 'n roll songwriters. Blackwell "shaped the foundation..." of rock 'n roll by giving Elvis Presley "Don't Be Cruel." Hound Dog was a big hit, but it might be said that "Don't Be Cruel" put Rock and Roll into the mainstream culture. Otis Blackwell wrote it, and many other songs on this CD. It is great to hear these hits sung in the original style (most of them), but by different artists. Debbie Harry sings "Don't be Cruel" and Kris Kristofferson sings in a voice you won't recognize. The other performers are not as well known, but they perform really well. Listen to the cuts and decide which you think is best. I think all of them are very well done. If you like, or remember Elvis, this tribute CD is a must. Most tribute albums fail because the interpretations are too diverse to make the album consistent. "Brace Yourself: A Tribute to Otis Blackwell" sidesteps that problem by having the artists record with a house band well-versed in the material of the legendary rock & roll/R&B songwriter. Otis Blackwell was born on February 16th, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. He was a singer, pianist and composer, who had a strong impact in rock and roll music. He was also known as John Davenport. Blackwell wrote some of the greatest hits for Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Jones, Little Willie John and others, among them "All Shook Up", "Don't Be Cruel", "Great Balls of Fire", "Fever", "Breathless", "Return to Sender", etc. On this tribute album, 15 of those hits are performed by an equal number of different artists such as Graham Parker, Dave Edmunds, Paul Rodgers, Willie DeVille, Kris Kristoferson, Marcia Ball, Chrissie Hynde to name just a few, with new arrangements and without being devaluated nor loosing the slightest bit of magic of the original recordings at all. In 1991, 3 years before this album was published, Blackwell suffered a stroke which left him paralyzed. Otis Blackwell died of a heart attack in May 6th, 2002, in Nashville, Tennessee.
