Kris Holmes

2016 continues taking artists from us. Sad news. Below added by site confirmed by family on social media As often happens its not till the sad news that the full details of their life come into focus... Info below from a Black Cat a Dutch Rockabilly site Born Earl Solomon Burroughs, 16 September 1925, Fulton County, Georgia. Jack Hammer is probably best known as the co-writer of one of the immortal classics of rock n roll, "Great Balls Of Fire", Jerry Lee Lewis' # 2 hit from 1957. Born in New Orleans, he moved to California as a youngster and then, probably in the mid-1950s, to New York City, where he became the M.C. at the Baby Grand Theatre.Earl Burroughs (his real name) started writing songs in the 1950s Hammer is probably more important as a songwriter than as a singer. The story behind "Great Balls Of Fire" (as revealed by Stuart Colman) is as follows. Hammer wrote a song of that name and submitted it to New York songwriter Paul Case, who at that time also happened to be musical consultant for the forthcoming movie "Jamboree". Case was unimpressed with the contents but loved the title. He subsequently called Otis Blackwell, who had never met Jack, and commissioned him to write a new song around the title, to be used in "Jamboree". Hammer was in full agreement to this arrangement as the deal was to be split right down the middle. The album had a different title in every country where it came out ; in the UK it was called "Hammer + Beat = Twist" (Oriole PS 40020, 1963). Some of the more successful twist recordings were also recorded in German and/or Spanish for the local markets. By 1971 he was living in Wiesbaden, Germany, where he played the U.S. military bases. Apart from "Swim"/"Color Combination", there were no new releases in the 1970s. Hammer 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 in the early to mid-1980s. more details can be read via the link below http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/jack_hammer.htm Also a discography and more info can be read here http://www.rocky-52.net/chanteursh/hammer_jack.htm