I'm not sure where to start with Johnny Otis, who died this week at the age of 90. The word is tossed around too casually, but he really was a legend. He was a musician, band leader, producer, promoter, club owner, talent scout, DJ, TV show host, minister, activist, author. He discovered Etta James, among many other R&B greats. His son, pictured above, is the amazing guitarist Shuggie Otis. If you want to learn all about Otis and his time on L.A.'s Central Avenue, read this book. Oh, and in case you didn't know, Johnny Otis was white. He was born in Northern California to Greek immigrant parents. But he adopted black culture as his own and he was embraced by that community as one of their own. Johnny Otis produced this song (by Johnny Ace) and that's him playing the vibraphone. God bless him.
I played on a Johnny Otis album in the 80s. I have to dig that out.
Posted by: Rob Meurer | January 18, 2012 at 11:05 PM