LOS ANGELES (AP) – Johnny Otis, the “godfather
of rhythm and blues” who wrote and recorded the R&B classic
“Willie and the Hand Jive” and for decades evangelized black music
to white audiences as a bandleader and radio host, has died. He was
90.
Otis, who had been in poor health for several
years, died at his home in the Los Angeles foothill suburb of
Altadena on Tuesday, said his manager, Terry Gould.
Otis, who was white, was born John Veliotes to
Greek immigrants and grew up in a black section of Berkeley, where
he said he identified far more with black culture than his own. As
a teenager, he changed his name because he thought Johnny Otis
sounded more black.
“As a kid, I decided that if our society
dictated that one had to be black or white, I would be black,” he
once explained.
His musical tastes clearly reflected that
adopted culture and even after he became famous, his dark skin and
hair often led audiences and club promoters to assume he was black
like his band mates.
Otis was leading his own band in 1945 when he
scored his first big hit, “Harlem Nocturne.” In 1950, 10 of his
songs made Billboard Magazine’s R&B chart. His “Willie and the
Hand Jive” sold more than 1.5 million copies and was covered years
later by Eric Clapton.
He later wrote “Every Beat of My Heart,” which
was a hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips.
But the influence of Otis was felt most
through his ability to recognize and promote talent. He wove into
his bands such diverse and legendary R&B vocalists as Etta
James, Hank Ballard, Big Mama Thornton and The Robins, the latter a
group that would evolve into the Coasters.
He produced Thornton’s original recording of
“Hound Dog,” a song that would later become an even bigger hit for
Elvis Presley.
“His band shows a different style on pretty
much every new recording,” said Piero Scaruffi, author of “A
History of Rock Music, 1951-2000.” ”The reas on is that Otis did
not force his personality on others but worked with the personality
of the others. He may not have been a great composer or performer
himself, but he was an impressive conductor.”
Otis launched his professional music career as
an 18-year-old drummer for bawdy barrelhouse pianist Count Otis
Matthews, although he had never played the drums until then.
Matthews instructed him to simply pound out
the syncopated “shave and a haircut, six bits” beat that would
become the backbone of early rock ‘n’ roll. His mastery of it soon
proved his ticket to other bands and eventually to headlining his
own group.
Otis saw himself as curator of black popular
music, which for him represented much more than a diversion or
livelihood. His cross-country R&B reviews and his radio and
television appearances were dedicated to delivering black music to
white audiences.
“The music isn’t just the notes, it’s the
culture – the way grandma cooked, the way gra ndpa told stories,
the way the kids walked and talked,” he once said.
While he always returned to playing music, in
later years touring with his sons Shuggie and Nicky, Otis’ eclectic
interests also included politics, art and organic food.
He worked for years as deputy chief of staff
to state Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally when Dymally served in the
Assembly, state Senate, as lieutenant governor and as a
congressman.
In later years, Otis spent much of his time
painting and sculpting. He also opened an organic grocery store in
Sebastopol in the early 1990s to sell his son Nicky’s vegetables,
decorating the store with his own colorful murals.
Although he had little success selling
groceries, he did draw large crowds to the market every Friday and
Saturday night when he performed there with his band.
“It was a smashing success,” Gould said. “You
had to make reservations three weeks ahead. It was amazing.”
Otis also had a regular show playing recor ds
on the nonprofit Pacifica Radio Network’s stations until failing
health prompted him to retire in 2005.
In addition to his sons, Otis is survived by
his wife, Phyllis, whom he married in 1941; daughters Janet and
Laura; and several grandchildren.
