Jack Hammer (songwriter)
| Jack Hammer | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Earl Solomon Burroughs |
| Also known as | Earl Burrows George Stone T.T. Tyler |
| Born |
September 16, 1925 Fulton County, Georgia, United States |
| Died | April 8, 2016 (aged 90) Oakland, California, United States |
| Genres | Rhythm and blues, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, pianist, singer, actor, dancer, MC |
| Labels | Ronnex |
Earl Solomon Burroughs (September 16, 1925 – April 8, 2016), known professionally as Jack Hammer, was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter, credited as the co-writer of "Great Balls of Fire".
Burroughs was born either in Fulton County, Georgia, or in New Orleans, but grew up in California. In the early 1950s, he moved to New York City, where he worked as an MC at the Baby Grand Theatre. He began writing songs, one of his earliest being "Fujiyama Mama", recorded by Annisteen Allen, Eileen Barton, and a few years later by Wanda Jackson. After starting to use the pseudonym Jack Hammer, he also wrote "Rock 'n' Roll Call", recorded by the Treniers and Louis Jordan. He also recorded several singles in the mid-1950s, including "Football Rock" on Decca, and "Girl Girl Girl" on Roulette.
Hammer wrote a song, "Great Balls of Fire", and submitted it to songwriter Paul Case, who liked the title but not the song itself. Case passed the idea to Otis Blackwell, and commissioned him to write a song of the same title for inclusion in the film Jamboree, with Hammer taking a half share of the songwriting royalties. The song was successfully recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis. Hammer also wrote "Peek-A-Boo", a hit for the Cadillacs. Much of Hammer's songwriting work is credited to various aliases including Earl Burrows, Early S. Burrows, George Stone, and T.T. Tyler. His song "Plain Gold Ring" appeared on Nina Simone's 1958 debut album Little Girl Blue, and was later recorded by Nick Cave, Kimbra and others.
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