From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed Sep 18, 2002  1:18 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Jack Hammer
 
JACK HAMMER

Born Earl Burroughs, 18 September, circa 1933, New Orleans, Louisiana

Songwriter / singer.
Jack Hammer is probably best known as the co-writer (with Otis Blackwell)
of one of the immortal classics of rock n roll, "Great Balls Of Fire" (1957).
Not to be confused with the Jack Hammer who recorded on Milestone (this
in fact was a pseudonym for rockabilly/country singer Werly Fairburn),
Hammer graduated via California to New York where he became the M.C.
at the Baby Grand Theatre. One of his earliest compositions (credited to
Earl Burrows) was the spectacular "Fujiyama Mama", for Annisteen Allen
(1954), which was covered by Eileen Barton and later by Wanda Jackson.
His "Rock 'n' Roll Call" was recorded by the Treniers in 1955 and Louis
Jordan in 1956.
In April 1956 he made his first recording, when along with Mame Watts
he recorded "Knocked Kneed Nellie from Knoxville" on Decca, followed
in the same year by "Football Rock". Other artists continued to benefit
from his scribing skills : Jerry Lee Lewis cut "Milkshake Mademoiselle",
Big Danny Oliver "Sapphire", the Cadillacs "Peek-a-Boo" and "Croc-o-doll"
was written for the Impacts. His next appearance on record was "Girls
Girls Girls" on Roulette 4046 (1958), followed by releases on Trend in 1959.
He subsequently recorded albums on Warwick and Polydor, before moving
to Paris in the early sixties. While in Europe, he recorded several singles
and an LP for the Belgian Ronnex label, which were released on Oriole in
the UK. The best known of these is "Kissin' Twist" (1961), which sold well
in Germany, Belgium and France. During his time in Paris he also appeared
in cabaret doing Sammy Davis and Chuck Berry impersonations. He moved
back to New York in order to play the part of Jimi Hendrix in a proposed
film, but the plans for this movie foundered.
A BMI search tells us that he has written 152 songs registered with BMI,
including those credited to Earl Burroughs and Earl Burrows. All Music
Guide and another source give 1940 as his year of birth, but that would
imply that he wrote "Fujiyama Mama" at the age of fourteen, which seems
very, very unlikely to me.

(With thanks to Henk Gorter.)