Johnny Otis, the musician, bandleader, songwriter, impresario, disc jockey and talent scout who was often called “the godfather of rhythm and blues,” died on Tuesday at his home in Altadena, Calif. He was 90.
His death was confirmed by his manager, Terry Gould.
Leading a band in the late 1940s that combined the high musical standards of big band jazz with the raw urgency of gospel music and the blues,
Mr. Otis played an important role in creating a new sound for a new audience of young urban blacks. Within a few years it would form the foundation of rock ’n’ roll.
With a keen ear for talent, he helped steer a long list of performers to stardom, among them Etta James, Jackie Wilson, Esther Phillips and Big Mama Thornton — whose hit recording of “Hound Dog,” made in 1952, four years before Elvis Presley’s, was produced by Mr. Otis and featured him on drums.
At Mr. Otis’s induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, Ms. James referred to him as her “guru.” (He received similar honors from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation and the Blues Foundation.)
Mr. Otis was also a political activist, a preacher, an artist, an author and even, late in life, an organic farmer. But it was in music that he left his most lasting mark.
Despite being a mover and shaker in the world of black music, Mr. Otis was not black, which as far as he was concerned was simply an accident of birth. He was immersed in African-American culture from an early age and said he considered himself “black by persuasion.”
“Genetically, I’m pure Greek,” he told The San Jose Mercury News in 1994. “Psychologically, environmentally, culturally, by choice, I’m a member of the black community.”
As a musician (he played piano and vibraphone in addition to drums) Mr. Otis can be heard on Johnny Ace’s “Pledging My Love,” Charles Brown’s “Drifting Blues” and other seminal rhythm and blues records, as well as on jazz recordings by Lester Young and Illinois Jacquet. As a bandleader and occasional vocalist, he had a string of rhythm and blues hits in the early 1950s and a Top 10 pop hit in 1958 with his composition “
Willie and the Hand Jive,” later covered
by Eric Clapton and others. His many other compositions included “Every Beat of My Heart,” a Top 10 hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips in 1961.
As a disc jockey (he was on the radio for decades starting in the 1950s and had his own Los Angeles
television show from 1954 to 1961) he helped bring black vernacular music into the American mainstream.
Johnny Otis was born John Alexander Veliotes (some sources give his first name as Ioannis) on Dec. 28, 1921, in Vallejo, Calif., the son of Greek immigrants who ran a grocery. He grew up in a predominantly black area of Berkeley. Mr. Otis began his career as a drummer in 1939. In 1945 he formed a 16-piece band and recorded his first hit, “
Harlem Nocturne.”
As big bands fell out of fashion, Mr. Otis stripped the ensemble down to just a few horns and a rhythm section and stepped to the forefront of the emerging rhythm and blues scene. In 1948 he and a partner opened a nightclub, the Barrelhouse, in the Watts section of Los Angeles.
From 1950 to 1952 Mr. Otis had 15 singles on Billboard’s rhythm and blues Top 40, including “Double Crossing Blues,” which was No. 1 for nine weeks. On the strength of that success he crisscrossed the country with his California Rhythm and Blues Caravan, featuring singers like Ms. Phillips, billed as Little Esther — whom he had discovered at a talent contest at his nightclub — and Hank Ballard, who a decade later would record the original version of “The Twist,” the song that ushered in a national dance craze.
Around this time Mr. Otis became a D.J. on the Los Angeles-area radio station KFOX. He was an immediate success, and soon had his own local television show as well. He had a weekly program on the Pacifica Radio Network in California from the 1970s until 2005.
Hundreds of Mr. Otis’s radio and television shows are archived at Indiana University. In addition, he is the subject of a coming documentary film, “Every Beat of My Heart: The Johnny Otis Story,” directed by Bruce Schmiechen, and a biography, “Midnight at the Barrelhouse,” by George Lipsitz, published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2010.
While he never stopped making music as long as his health allowed, Mr. Otis focused much of his attention in the 1960s on politics and the civil rights movement. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the California State Assembly and served on the staff of
Mervyn M. Dymally, a Democratic assemblyman who later became a United States representative and California’s first black lieutenant governor.
Mr. Otis’s first book, “Listen to the Lambs” (1968), was largely a reflection on the political and social significance of the 1965 Watts riots.
In the mid-1970s Mr. Otis branched out further when he was ordained as a minister and opened the nondenominational Landmark Community Church in Los Angeles. While he acknowledged that some people attended just “to see what Reverend Hand Jive was talking about,” he took his position seriously and in his decade as pastor was involved in charitable work including feeding the homeless.
In the early 1990s he moved to Sebastopol, an agricultural town in northern California, and became an organic farmer, a career detour that he said was motivated by his concern for the environment. For several years he made and sold his own brand of apple juice in a store he opened to sell the produce he grew with his son Nick. The store doubled as a nightclub where Mr. Otis and his band performed.
Later that decade he published three more books: “Upside Your Head!: Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue” (1993), a memoir of his musical life; “Colors and Chords” (1995), a collection of his paintings, sculptures, wood carvings and cartoons (his interest in art had begun when he started sketching cartoons on his tour bus in the 1950s to amuse his band); and “Red Beans & Rice and Other Rock ’n’ Roll Recipes” (1997), a cookbook.
Mr. Otis continued to record and perform into the 21st century. His bands often included family members: his son John Jr., known as Shuggie, is a celebrated guitarist who played with him for many years, and Nick was his longtime drummer. Two grandsons, Lucky and Eric Otis, also played guitar with him.
In addition to his sons, he is survived by his wife of 70 years, the former Phyllis Walker; two daughters, Janice Johnson and Laura Johnson; nine grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandchild.
Long after he was a force on the rhythm and blues charts, Mr. Otis was a familiar presence at blues and even jazz festivals. What people wanted to call his music, he said, was of no concern to him.
“Society wants to categorize everything, but to me it’s all African-American music,” he told The San Francisco Chronicle in 1993. “The music isn’t just the notes, it’s the culture — the way Grandma cooked, the way Grandpa told stories, the way the kids walked and talked.”
Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes[1] (December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012), better known as
Johnny Otis, was an
American singer,
musician,
composer, and
record producer.
[2] Born in
Vallejo, California,
[1] he is commonly referred to as the "Godfather of Rhythm and Blues".
[3]
[edit] Personal life
Otis was the child of
Greek immigrants Alexander J. Veliotes, a
Mare Island longshoreman and
grocery store owner, and his wife, the former Irene Kiskakes, a
painter.
[1][4]
He was the older brother of
Nicholas A. Veliotes, former U.S. Ambassador to
Jordan (1978–1981) and to
Egypt (1984–1986).
Otis grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood in
Berkeley, California, where his father owned and operated a neighborhood grocery store. Otis became well known for his choice to live his professional and personal life as a member of the African-American community.
[5][6][7] He has written, "As a kid I decided that if our society dictated that one had to be black or white, I would be black."
[8]
He was the father of musician
Shuggie Otis.
[edit] Music career
After playing
drums in a variety of
swing orchestras, including
Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders,
[9] and
Harlan Leonard's Rockets,
[10] he founded his own band in 1945 and had one of the most enduring hits of the big band era, "
Harlem Nocturne". His band included
Wynonie Harris and
Charles Brown. In 1947, he and
Bardu Ali opened the Barrelhouse Club in the
Watts district of
Los Angeles, California. He reduced the size of his band and hired singers
Mel Walker,
Little Esther Phillips and the Robins (who later became
the Coasters).
[11] JET Apr 3, 1952. "Johnny Otis, White, Heads "Negro" Blues Band"p 60. He discovered the teenaged Phillips when she won one of the Barrelhouse Club's talent shows. With this band, which toured extensively throughout the
United States as the California Rhythm and Blues Caravan, he had a long string of rhythm and blues hits through 1950.
In the late 1940s, he discovered
Big Jay McNeely, who then performed on his "Barrelhouse Stomp". He began recording for the
Newark, New Jersey-based
Savoy label in 1949,
[10] and began releasing a stream of records that made the
R&B chart, including "Double Crossing Blues", "Mistrustin' Blues" and "Cupid Boogie", which all featured either Little Esther or Mel Walker, or both, and all reached no. 1 on the
Billboard R&B chart.
[12] He also began featuring himself on
vibraphone on many of his recordings.
[10] Otis produced and played the vibraphone on
Johnny Ace's "
Pledging My Love", which was no. 1 on the
Billboard R and B chart for 10 weeks in 1955.
In January 1951, Otis released "Mambo Boogie," featuring congas, maracas, claves, and mambo saxophone
guajeos in a blues progression. According to Vernon Boggs, this was the first R&B mambo
[13]
Saxophone guajeo in blues progression. "Mambo Boogie" by Johnny Otis (1951).
He moved to the
Mercury label in 1951, but his chart success began to diminish. However, he discovered
Etta James and produced and co-wrote her first hit, "
Roll With Me, Henry" (also known as "The Wallflower"). Otis produced, co-wrote, and played drums on the original recording of "
Hound Dog" written by
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller with vocals by
Big Mama Thornton, and was given a writing credit on all six of the 1953 releases of the song. He was a successful songwriter; one of his most famous compositions is "
Every Beat of My Heart", first recorded by The Royals in 1952 on Federal Records
[14][15] but which became a hit for
Gladys Knight and the Pips then just 'Pips' in 1961. He also wrote "So Fine", which was originally recorded by The Sheiks in 1955 on Federal, and in 1959 was a hit for
The Fiestas. As an
artist and repertory man for
King Records he discovered
Jackie Wilson,
Hank Ballard, and
Little Willie John, among others.
[10] He also became an influential disc-jockey in Los Angeles.
[16]
After starting his own label, Dig, in 1955, he continued to perform and appeared on regular TV shows in
Los Angeles from 1957. On the strength of their success, he signed to
Capitol Records. Featuring singer Marie Adams, and with his band now being credited as the Johnny Otis Show, he made a comeback, at first in the British charts with "Ma He's Making Eyes At Me" in 1957.
[17] In April 1958, he recorded his best-known recording, "Willie and the Hand Jive", a
clave-based vamp, which relates to hand and arm motions in time with the music, called the
hand jive. This went on to be a hit in the summer of 1958, peaking at no. 9 on the U.S. Pop chart, and becoming Otis' only Top 10 single. The single reached no. 1 on the
Billboard R and B chart. The song was covered by
Eric Clapton in 1974, and became a staple of his live repertoire. Otis' success with the song was short-lived, and he briefly moved to
King Records in 1961, where he backed
Johnny "Guitar" Watson on some recordings.
[10]
In 1969 he recorded an album of sexually explicit material under the name Snatch and the Poontangs.
[18] In 1970 he played at the legendary
Monterey Jazz Festival with Little Esther Phillips and
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. In the 1980s he had a weekly radio show in Los Angeles, playing R&B music,
[19] and also recorded with his son Shuggie Otis, releasing the 1982 album
The New Johnny Otis Show.
[10]
Otis continued performing through the 1990s and headlined the
San Francisco Blues Festival in 1990 and 2000, although because of his many other interests he went through long periods where he did not perform. He was inducted to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a nonperformer for his work as a songwriter and producer.
[20]
[edit] Other work
In the 1960s, he entered journalism and politics, losing a campaign for a seat in the
California State Assembly (one reason for the loss may be that he ran under his much less well known real name). He then became chief of staff for
Democratic Congressman Mervyn M. Dymally.
[21] He was also was the pastor of Landmark Community Church.
In the 1990s, Otis bought a farm near
Sebastopol, California, north of
San Francisco. For a time he ran a coffee shop/grocery store/blues club, where one of the featured singers was the
Georgia-born singer
Jackie Payne. Around this time Otis also founded and pastored a new church, Landmark Community Gospel Church, which held weekly rehearsals in the tiny town of
Forestville, California, and Sunday services in
Santa Rosa, California. Landmark's worship services centered on Otis' preaching and the traditional-style performances of a gospel choir and a male gospel quartet, backed by a rocking band that featured Otis' son Nicky Otis and Shuggie's son, Lucky Otis. The church closed its doors in the mid-1990s.
[citation needed]
Otis hosted a radio show on
KPFA,
The Johnny Otis Show. This show was aired every Saturday morning, live from the Powerhouse Brewery in Sebastopol. Listeners were invited to stop in for breakfast and enjoy the show live. Due to declining health, as well as his relocation to Los Angeles, his participation in the show decreased. The show last aired on August 19, 2006.
[citation needed]
He died on January 17, 2012, just three days before
Etta James, whom he had discovered in the 1950s.
[2]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Chart singles
| Year | Single | Artists | Chart Positions |
|---|
| US Pop[22] | US
R&B[12] | UK[23] |
|---|
| 1948 | "That's Your Last Boogie" | Joe Swift with Johnny Otis & His Orchestra | - | 10 | - |
| 1950 | "Double Crossing Blues" | Johnny Otis Quintette, The Robins and Little Esther | - | 1 | - |
"Mistrustin' Blues" /
"Misery" | Little Esther with Mel Walker and the Johnny Otis Orchestra
Little Esther with the Johnny Otis Orchestra | -
- | 1
9 | -
- |
| "Cry Baby" | The Johnny Otis Orchesta, Mel Walker and the Bluenotes | - | 6 | - |
| "Cupid Boogie" | The Johnny Otis Orchesta, Little Esther and Mel Walker | - | 1 | - |
| "Deceivin' Blues" | Little Esther and Mel Walker with the Johnny Otis Orchestra | - | 4 | - |
| "Dreamin' Blues" | Mel Walker with the Johnny Otis Orchestra | - | 8 | - |
"Wedding Boogie" /
"Far Away Blues (Xmas Blues)" | Johnny Otis' Congregation: Little Esther, Mel Walker, Lee Graves
The Johnnie Otis Orchestra with Little Esther and Mel Walker | -
- | 6
6 | -
- |
| "Rockin' Blues" | The Johnny Otis Orchestra with Mel Walker | - | 2 | - |
| 1951 | "Gee Baby" /
"Mambo Boogie" | The Johnny Otis Orchestra | -
- | 2
4 | -
- |
| "All Nite Long" | The Johnny Otis Orchestra | - | 6 | - |
| 1952 | "Sunset To Dawn" | Mel Walker with the Johnny Otis Orchestra | - | 10 | - |
| "Call Operator 210" | Johnny Otis and His Orchestra featuring Mel Walker | - | 4 | - |
| 1957 | "Ma He's Making Eyes At Me" | Johnny Otis and His Orchestra with Marie Adams and The Three Tons of Joy | - | - | 2 |
| 1958 | "Bye Bye Baby" | The Johnny Otis Show, vocals by Marie Adams and Johnny Otis | - | - | 20 |
| "Willie and the Hand Jive" | The Johnny Otis Show | 9 | 1 | - |
| "Crazy Country Hop" | The Johnny Otis Show | 87 | - | - |
| 1959 | "Castin' My Spell" | The Johnny Otis Show | 52 | - | - |
| 1960 | "Mumblin' Mosie" | The Johnny Otis Show | 80 | - | - |
| 1969 | "Country Girl" | The Johnny Otis Show | - | 29 | - |
[edit] References
