⬇️ JOHNNY OTIS ⬇️
(Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes)
DISCOGRAPHY 1951-2021 (62CD)
BIOGRAPHY
He discovered numerous artists early in their careers who went on to become
highly successful in their own right, including Little Esther Phillips, Etta
James, Big Mama Thornton, Johnny Ace, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John,
Hank Ballard, and The Robins (who eventually changed their name to The
Coasters), among many others. Otis has been called the "Godfather of Rhythm
and Blues".
Otis was born in Vallejo, California, to Greek immigrant parents,
Alexander J. Veliotes, a Mare Island longshoreman and grocery store owner,
and his wife, the former Irene Kiskakes, a painter.[3] He had a younger
sister, Dorothy, and a younger brother, Nicholas A. Veliotes, who became
the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan (1978–81) and Egypt (1984–86). Johnny grew
up in a predominantly black neighborhood in Berkeley, California, where
his father owned a grocery store. He became known for his choice to live
his professional and personal life as a member of the African-American
community. He wrote, "As a kid I decided that if our society dictated that
one had to be black or white, I would be black."
Otis began playing drums as a teenager, having bought a set by forging his
father's signature on a credit slip. Soon after, he dropped out of
Berkeley High School, in his junior year. He joined a local band, the West
Oakland House Rockers,[10] with his pianist friend "Count" Otis Matthews.
By 1939, they were performing at many local functions, mostly in and
around Oakland and Berkeley, and were popular among their peers.
In the early 1940s Otis played in swing orchestras, including Lloyd
Hunter's Serenaders[11] and Harlan Leonard's Rockets.[12] He founded his
own band in 1945; they had one of the most enduring hits of the big-band
era, "Harlem Nocturne", a composition by Earle Hagen. His band included
Wynonie Harris, Charles Brown, and Illinois Jacquet, among others. In
1947, he and Bardu Ali opened the Barrelhouse Club in the Watts district
of Los Angeles.
Otis reduced the size of his band and hired the singers Mel Walker, Little
Esther (born Esther Mae Jones and later known as Esther Phillips) and the
Robins (who later became the Coasters).[13] He discovered the teenaged
Esther Jones when she won a talent show at the Barrelhouse Club. With this
band, he toured extensively in the United States as the California Rhythm
and Blues Caravan, and had a string of rhythm-and-blues hits through 1950.
Otis and his Orchestra played at the third annual Cavalcade of Jazz
concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr.
on September 7, 1947. Woody Herman, The Valdez Orchestra, The Blenders,
T-Bone Walker, Slim Gaillard, The Honeydrippers, Sarah Vaughn and the
Three Blazers also performed that same day.....
(Wikipedia)