Johnny otis biography

American musical entertainer (1921–2012)

Musical artist

Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes (Greek: Ιωάννης Αλέξανδρος Βελιώτης)); Dec 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American vocalist, musician, composer, bandleader, record maker, and talent scout.^[1] He was a seminal influence on Land R&B and rock and tilt.

He discovered numerous artists precisely in their careers who went on to become highly operative in their own right, inclusive of Little Esther Phillips, Etta Apostle, Alan O'Day,^[2]Big Mama Thornton, Johnny Ace, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, Hank Ballard, and Illustriousness Robins, Sugar Pie Desanto, amongst many others.

Otis has archaic called the "Godfather of Ready to drop and Blues".^[3]

Personal life

Otis was inborn in Vallejo, California, to Hellenic immigrant parents, Alexander J. Veliotes, a Mare Islandlongshoreman and foodstuff store owner, and his helpmate, the former Irene Kiskakes, organized painter.^[4] He had a last sister, Dorothy, and a previous brother, Nicholas A.

Veliotes, who became the U.S. Ambassador hitch Jordan (1978–1981) and Egypt (1984–1986). Johnny grew up in straighten up predominantly black neighborhood in Bishop, California, where his father celebrated a grocery store. He became known for his choice protect live his professional and precise life as a member line of attack the African-American community.^[5][6][7] He wrote, "As a kid I positive that if our society constrained that one had to adjust black or white, I would be black."^[8]

On May 2, 1941, when Otis was 19, crystalclear married Phyllis Walker, an 18-year-old woman of African American cope with Filipino descent from Oakland, whom he had known since youth.

Despite deep and enduring focus from his mother, the pubescent couple left California and extreme to marry in Reno, Nevada, where interracial marriage was popular at the time.^[9] They challenging four children: two sons, Shuggie Otis and Nicholas Otis—both admit whom became musicians—and two heirs, Janice and Laura.^[10] Johnny stomach Phyllis also raised Lucky Artificer, Shuggie's son with his foremost wife, Miss Mercy Fontenot an assortment of The GTOs.

Music career

Otis began playing drums as a boy, having bought a set brush aside forging his father's signature depress a credit slip. Soon afterward, he dropped out of City High School, in his worse year. He joined a adjoining band, the West Oakland Home Rockers,^[11] with his pianist keep count of "Count" Otis Matthews.

By 1939, they were performing at multitudinous local functions, mostly in skull around Oakland and Berkeley, extremity were popular among their titled classes.

In the early 1940s Artificer played in swing orchestras, plus Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders^[12] and Harlan Leonard's Rockets.^[13] He founded fillet own band in 1945; they had one of the nigh enduring hits of the big-band era, "Harlem Nocturne", a combination by Earle Hagen.

His zipper included Wynonie Harris, Charles Browned, and Illinois Jacquet, among bareness. In 1947, he and Bardu Ali opened the Barrelhouse Truncheon in the Watts district glimpse Los Angeles. Otis reduced significance size of his band standing hired the singers Mel Traveller, Little Esther (born Esther Mae Jones and later known little Esther Phillips) and the Robins (who later became the Coasters).^[14] He discovered the teenaged Jewess Jones when she won calligraphic talent show at the Taproom Club.

With this band, dirt toured extensively in the Coalesced States as the California Cadence and Blues Caravan,^[15] and confidential a string of rhythm-and-blues hits through 1950.

Otis and reward Orchestra played at the bag annual Cavalcade of Jazz complaint held at Wrigley Field rip open Los Angeles produced by City Hefflin, Sr.

on September 7, 1947. Woody Herman, The Port Orchestra, The Blenders, T-Bone Hiker, Slim Gaillard, The Honeydrippers, Wife Vaughn and the Three Blazers also performed that same day.^[16]

Otis discovered the tenor saxophonistBig Jurist McNeely, who played on consummate up-tempo "Barrelhouse Stomp".

He began recording Little Esther and Conflict Walker for Savoy Records, family circle in Newark, New Jersey, divide 1949,^[13] and also released unornamented stream of hit records, plus "Double Crossing Blues", "Mistrustin' Blues" and "Cupid's Boogie", all after everything else which reached number 1 limit the Billboard R&B chart.

Quickwitted 1950, Billboard selected Otis reorganization the R&B Artist of character Year.^[17] He also began dispatch the vibraphone on many give a rough idea his recordings.^[13]

In 1951, Otis free "Mambo Boogie", featuring congas, maracas, claves, and mambo saxophone guajeos in a blues progression, description first R&B mambo ever recorded.^[18] Otis moved to Mercury Archives in 1951.

He discovered influence singer Etta James, who was then 13 years old, comic story one of his talent shows. He produced and co-wrote make more attractive first hit, "The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry)".

In 1952, while in Houston, Texas, Inventor auditioned the singer Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton. He take, co-wrote, and played drums relationship her 1953 recording of "Hound Dog" (the first recording vacation the song); he and surmount band also provided the patronage "howling" vocals.^[19] The song was co-written by Jerry Leiber give orders to Mike Stoller.

Otis had fastidious legal dispute with the songwriting duo over the credits tail he learned that Leiber stand for Stoller had revised the contractual agreement before the singer Elvis Presley recorded a new incarnation of the song, which readily became a number 1 drum. Claiming Leiber and Stoller lawlessly had the original contract untrue and rewrote a new ventilate stating that the two boys (who were both 17) were the only composers of blue blood the gentry song, Otis sued.

The vehicle decided the case in backup of the defendants, ruling mosey the first contract with Discoverer was null and void by reason of they were minors when they signed it.

One of Otis's most famous compositions is glory ballad "Every Beat of Tidy up Heart", first recorded by excellence Royals in 1952 for Associated Records.^[20][21] It was a proof of payment for Gladys Knight and nobility Pips in 1961.

Otis as well produced and played the vibraharp on "Pledging My Love", antisocial the singer Johnny Ace, which was number 1 on goodness Billboard R&B chart for 10 weeks. Another successful song plan Otis was "So Fine", at the outset recorded by the Sheiks satisfaction 1955 for Federal and well-ordered hit for the Fiestas nonthreatening person 1959.

As an artist have a word with repertory man for King Documents, Otis discovered numerous young outlook who later became successful, together with Jackie Wilson, Hank Ballard, keep from Little Willie John.^[13]

Otis hosted unmixed television show, The Johnny Inventor Show, and became an relevant disc jockey in Los Angeles, with a program on ghetto-blaster station KFOX in Long Littoral in 1955.^[22]

In 1955, Otis in motion his own label, Ultra Papers (he changed the name compel to Dig after releasing five singles).

He continued to perform suffer appeared on TV shows undecorated Los Angeles from 1957. Compose the strength of their welfare, he signed with Capitol Registers. Featuring the singer Marie President and with his band, having an important effect known as the Johnny Industrialist Show, he made a return, at first in the Land charts with "Ma!

He's Fabrication Eyes at Me" in 1957.^[23] In April 1958, he factual his best-known song, "Willie forward the Hand Jive", a clave-based vamp. It was a stick in the summer of 1958, peaking at number 9 speculate the U.S. Pop chart, add-on was Otis's only Top 10 single. The single reached circulation 1 on the Billboard R&B chart.

Otis's success with leadership song was somewhat short-lived, abide he briefly moved to Do its stuff Records in 1961, where do something worked with Johnny "Guitar" Watson.^[13]

In 1959, Otis auditioned the Coachella Valley, California band the Renes which featured a young Alan O'Day on vocals.

Impressed, Inventor recorded and produced the bracket together performing three O'Day originals spell a few covers at Lurch Dorado Studios in Los Angeles. but the recordings were not in the least released as most of probity members of the Renes were minors.^[2]

In 1969, Otis landed unadulterated deal with Columbia Records nearby recorded the albums Cold Shot! and the sexually explicit Snatch and the Poontangs, both vacation which featured his son Shuggie and the singer Delmar "Mighty Mouth" Evans.^[24] A year ulterior, he recorded a double physical album of his band's tale at the Monterey Jazz Holiday, Johnny Otis Show Live utter Monterey! with Little Esther Phillips, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Pee Minuscule Crayton, Ivory Joe Hunter, discipline The Mighty Flea, among residuum.

A portion of the accomplishment was featured in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty dole out Me.

Live at Monterey was released in 1971 by Extreme Records. Reviewing it in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums be required of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said, "In-concert compilations are commonly incoherent, but the blues-style tough jive beloved of performer-turned-majordomo Discoverer has such formal integrity desert this r&b spectacular moves ad agreeably for four sides.

Some rule the featured players are inept more than Otis's hired safe and sound, including guitarist Shuggie O. However (in ascending order) Roy Poet, Big Joe Turner, Ivory Joe Hunter, Little (?) Esther Phillips, Roy Brown, and Cleanhead Jurist are a cast that beatniks anything Richard Nader's ever ash into the Garden."^[25]

Otis toured gawky in the 1970s.

He in motion the Blues Spectrum label come first released a series of cardinal albums, Rhythm and Blues Oldies, which featured the 1950s R&B artists Louis Jordan, Charles Darkbrown, Big Joe Turner, Pee Diminutive Crayton, Joe Liggins, Gatemouth Histrion, Roy Milton, Amos Milburn, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, and Richard Drupelet, with three of those albums by Otis himself.

In influence 1980s, Otis had a hebdomadal radio show, airing Mondays stranger 8 to 11 p.m. round off the Los Angeles radio side KPFK, on which he diseased records and received as visitors R&B artists such as Screamin' Jay Hawkins.^[26] Otis also prerecorded with his sons, Shuggie (guitar) and Nicky (drums), releasing leadership albums The New Johnny Inventor Show (Alligator, 1981), Johnny Otis!

Johnny Otis! (Hawk Sound, 1984) and Otisology (Kent, 1986).^[13] Prosperous the summer of 1987, Artificer hosted his own Red Let the cat out of the bag & Rice R&B Music Festival in Los Angeles, which featured top-name acts and hosted on the rocks Southern-style red beans and payment cook-off.

Otis released Spirit cancel out the Black Territory Bands compel 1992, for which he was nominated for a Grammy Award.^[27] He moved the festival understanding the city of San Dimas, where it ran annually appearance association with the Los Angeles County Department of Parks with Recreation for twenty years, while 2006.^[28]

Otis and his family pompous from southern California to City, California, a small apple-farming oppidan in Sonoma County.

He drawn-out his weekly radio program be bereaved KPFK's sister station KPFA imprisoned Berkeley, California, which aired all Saturday from 9am to Otis performed across the Collective States and Europe well recur the 1990s, headlining the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1990 and 2000. In 1993, settle down opened the Johnny Otis Market^{[29][30][31][32]} in Sebastopol, a grocery/deli/cabaret annulus Otis and his band (now joined by his grandsons Opportune on bass and Eric shine rhythm guitar) played sold-out shows^[33] every weekend until it done its doors in 1995.^[34][35][36] Lighten up was inducted into the Stone and Roll Hall of Villainy and the Blues Hall presentation Fame in 1994.^[37] He was inducted into the National Lilt & Blues Hall of Villainy in 2017.

Other work

In position 1960s, Otis entered journalism opinion politics. He lost an choosing for a seat in righteousness California State Assembly. He accordingly became deputy chief of staff^[38] to state Assemblyman, later, DemocraticCongressman, Mervyn M. Dymally.

Otis also founded^[40] and preached in the Fresh Landmark Community Gospel Church,^[41] which held Sunday services in Santa Rosa, California.

Landmark's worship employment centered on Otis's preaching viewpoint the traditional-style performances of deft vocal group and choir hardcover by his rhythm section delighted an organist.^[42] The church compressed in mid-1998.^{[citation needed]}

The Johnny Artificer Show, relocated from KPFK stop working sister station KPFA in Philosopher, California, where it aired pursuit Saturday mornings.

After his bazaar in Sebastopol opened in 1994, Otis broadcast from there, substitution his band playing live development the air, later broadcasting break the Powerhouse Brewing Co.^[43] Afterward Otis' retirement in late 2004, his grandson Lucky hosted greatness show at KPFA for link years, until its final ventilation in late 2006, when Artificer and his wife moved at present to Los Angeles.^[44]

In 1980, Nude Zappa stated in a Garment Press interview that he adoptive his trademark mustache and typography patch because "it looked moderately good on bluesman Johnny Otis, inexpressive I grew it."^[45]

He taught Tune euphony 15-B: Jazz, Blues and Wellreceived Music in American Culture, a-ok 3-unit Peralta Community College Division class.^[46]

Death

Otis died of natural causes on January 17, 2012, lessening the Altadena area of Los Angeles.

He died three period before Etta James, whom stylishness had discovered in the inopportune 1950s.^[1] He is interred comicalness his wife at Mountain Materialize Cemetery in Altadena, California, US.^[47]

Discography

Chart singles

Year	Single	Artists	Chart Positions
			US Pop[48]	US R&B[17]	UK[49]
1948	"That's Your Last Boogie"	Joe Swift with Johnny Artificer & His Orchestra	–	10	–
1950	"Double Path Blues"	Johnny Otis Quintette, description Robins and Little Esther	–	1	–
	"Mistrustin' Blues" / "Misery"	Little Esther and Mel Walker mess about with the Johnny Otis Orchestra Souvenir Little Esther with the Johnny Otis Orchestra	- -	1 9	- -
	"Cry Baby"	The Johnny Artificer Orchestra, Mel Walker and grandeur Bluenotes	–	6	–
	"Cupid's Boogie"	Little Esther and Struggle Walker with the Johnny Inventor Orchestra	–	1	–
	"Deceivin' Blues"	Little Esther and Encounter Walker with the Johnny Artificer Orchestra	–	4	–
	"Dreamin' Blues"	Mel Walker with illustriousness Johnny Otis Orchestra	–	8	–
	"Wedding Boogie" / "Far Absent Blues (Xmas Blues)"	Johnny Otis' Congregation: Little Esther, Mel Hiker, Lee Graves / The Johnny Otis Orchestra with Little Queen and Mel Walker	- -	6 6	- -
	"Rockin' Blues"	The Johnny Otis Orchestra with Mel Frame	–	2	–
1951	"Gee Baby" / "Mambo Boogie"	The Johnny Otis Orchestra	- -	2 4	- -
	"All Nite Long"	The Johnny Otis Orchestra	–	6	–
1952	"Sunset Message Dawn"	Mel Walker with representation Johnny Otis Orchestra	–	10	–
	"Call Operator 210"	Johnny Otis and His Orchestra featuring Mel Walker	–	4	–
1957	"Ma (He's Making Content at Me)"	The Johnny Artificer Show (Johnny Otis and Government Orchestra with Marie Adams slab the Three Tons of Joy)	–	–	2
1958	"Bye Bye Baby"	The Johnny Otis Show (vocal by Marie Adams & Johnny Otis)	–	–	20
	"Willie and distinction Hand Jive"	The Johnny Inventor Show	9	1	–
	"Crazy Country Hop"	The Johnny Industrialist Show	87	–	–
1959	"Castin' My Spell"	The Johnny Otis Show (vocal by Johnny Otis & Marci Lee)	52	–	–
1960	"Mumblin' Mosie"	The Johnny Otis Show	80	–	–
1969	"Country Girl"	The Johnny Otis Show (vocal by Delmar Evans & Johnny Otis)	–	29	–

References

External links