JOHNNY OTIS



Good golly

Crazy country hop

Willie did the cha cha

Telephone Baby

Hum-ding-a-ling

Can't you hear me callin'

Willie and the hand jive
















































































(Désolé, pour l'instant la biographie n'est disponible qu'en anglais...)

Johnny was born 28 December 1921, Vallejo, California. Born into a family of Greek immigrants, Otis was raisedin a largely black neighbourhood where he thoroughly absorbed the prevailing culture and lifestyle. He began playing drums in his mid-teens and worked for a time with some of the locally based jazz bands, including in 1941, Lloyd Hunter’s orchestra. In 1943 he gained his first name-band experience when he joined Harlan Leonard for a short spell. Some sources suggest that, during the difficult days when the draft was pulling musicians out of bands all across the USA, Otis then replaced another ex-Leonard drummer, Jesse Price, in the Stan Kenton band. In the mid-40’s Otis also recorded with several jazz groups, including Illinois Jacquet’s all-star band and a septet led by Lester Young. In 1945 Otis formed his own big band in Los Angeles. In an early edition assembled for a recording session, he leaned strongly towards a blues-based jazz repertoire and hired such musicians as Eli Robinson, Paul Quinichette, Teddy Buckner, Bill Doggett, Curtis Counce and singer Jimmy Rushing. This particular date produced a major success in “Harlem Nocturne”. He also led a small band, including McGhee and Teddy Edwards, on a record date backing Wynonie Harris. However, Otis was aware of audience interest in R&B and began to angle his repertoire accordingly. He quickly became one of the leading figures in the R&B boom of the late 40’s and early 50’s. Otis also enjoyed credit for writting several songs, although, in some cases, this was an area fraught with confusion and litigation. Among his songs was “Every beat of my heart” wich was a minor hit for Jackie Wilson in 1951 and a massive hit a decade later for Gladys Knight. Otis was instrumental in the discovery of Etta James and Willie Mae “big Mama” Thornton. A highly complex case of song co-authorship came to light with “Hound Dog”, which was recorded by “big Mama” Thornton. Otis, who had set up the date, was listed first as a composer, then as co-composer with its originators, Lieber and Stoller. After the song was turned into a multi-million dollar hit by Elvis Presley, other names appeared on the credits and the lawyers stepped in. Otis had a hit record in the UK with an updated version of “Ma, He’s making eyes at me” in 1957. During the 50’s Otis broadcast daily in the USA as a radio disc jockey, and had a weekly television show with his band and also formed several recording companies, all of wich helped to make him a widely recognized force in west coast R&B. During the 60’s and 70’s, Otis continued to appear on radio and television, touring with his well-packaged R&B based show. His son, Johnny “Shuggie” Otis Junior, appeared with the show and at the age of 13 had a hit with “Country Girl”. In addition to his musical career Otis wrote a book, “Listen to the lambs”, written in the aftermath of the Watts riots of the late 60’s.
-The encyclopedia of Fifties Music-













































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Can't you hear me callin' / Willie and the hand jive / Good golly / Crazy country hop / Telephone Baby / Willie did the cha cha / Hum-ding-a-ling

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