From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sat Dec 28, 2002  7:16 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Johnny Otis
 
JOHNNY OTIS (By Shaun Mather)

Born John Veliotes, 28 December 1921, Vallejo, California

Johnny Otis is a legend of the Los Angleles scene and is a black man
inside a white man's skin (the opposite of Michael Jackson). He is a
celebrated bandleader, record producer, talent scout, label owner, nightclub
impresario, disc jockey, TV variety show host, author, R&B pioneer and rock
& roll star.
Born of Greek origin, John Veliotes changed his name to the blacker-sounding
Otis when he was in his teens. Drums were his first passion and he played
with the Oakland-based orchestra of Count Otis Matthews as well as for
various Midwestern swing outfits before settling in Los Angeles during the
mid-'40s and joining Harlan Leonard's Rockets at the Club Alabam.
Before long the Alabam's owner persuaded Otis to assemble his own orchestra
for house-band duties. The group's 1945 debut sides for Excelsior were
solidly in the big-band jazz vein and included an arrangement of the moody
"Harlem Nocturne" that sold well. Otis's reputation as a drummer was growing
and he backed both Wynonie Harris and Charles Brown in 1945 alone. Otis'
outfit continued to record for Excelsior through 1947 and he opened the
Barrelhouse Club in Watts. R&B replaced jazz in Otis's heart; he pared the
big band down and discovered young talent such as the Robins, Mel Walker,
Little Esther Phillips and guitarist Pete Lewis.
Otis signed with Newark, NJ-based Savoy Records in 1949, and the R&B hits
came in droves: "Double Crossing Blues," "Mistrustin' Blues," and "Cupid's
Boogie" all hit number one that year (in all, Otis scored ten Top Ten smashes
that year alone!); "Gee Baby," "Mambo Boogie," and "All Nite Long" lit the
lamp in 1951, and "Sunset to Dawn" capped his amazing run in 1952
(vocals were shared by Little Esther and Walker and other members of the
group). By then, Otis had branched out to play vibes on many waxings.
In late 1951, Otis moved to Mercury, and between 1953 and 1955 he recorded
for Peacock, producing some nice jump blues sides but no hits. With his
orchestra he backed one of his many discoveries, Big Mama Thornton on
her chart-topping "Hound Dog," as well as a young Little Richard.
In 1955, Otis started up his own label, Dig Records, to showcase his own
work as well as his latest discoveries Arthur Lee Maye and Mel Williams.
The album Rock 'n' Roll Hit Parade was chock full of cover versions of the
r'n'b tunes of the day. He signed with Capitol Records (1957), billed as the
Johnny Otis Show, and hit the R&B and pop charts in 1958 with "Willie and
the Hand Jive," taking the vocal himself. His Revue included some great
vocalists like Williams, Marci Lee and Marie Adams and the three Tons of
Joy. The album The Johnny Otis Show was a fine example of the acts live
show and the recent reissue on Ace (with many added tracks) is one of the
great rock 'n' roll albums of the '50s.
After cutting some great rock & roll for Capitol from 1957 to 1959 with only
one hit to show for it, Otis dropped anchor at King Records in 1961-62 (in
addition to his own output, Otis's band also backed Johnny Guitar Watson
on several sides). Later in the decade, Otis recorded for Kent and watched
his son Shuggie becomea highly respected blues guitarist on Columbia.
They cut an album together for Alligator in 1982 entitled The New Johnny
Otis Show.
(Adapted from All Music Guide).

Recommended listening:
I've got a lot of the early and a little of the later stuff and it's all pretty
good,
but what I heartedly recommend are the two Ace CD's, The Greatest Johnny
Otis Show (Ace 673) and Rock 'n' Roll Hit Parade (Ace 774).
More info: http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/contentsjupp19.html
Official website: http://www.johnnyotisworld.com/
Book: Johnny Otis, Upside Your Head : Rhythm and Blues on Central
Avenue. Hanover, NH : University Press of New England, 1993.