Johnny Otis (1921-2012)
Here's an obituary, and a biographical sketch from his website.
Years ago, television interviewers who ran out of questions would ask: "If you had to spend five years in jail and your cellmate was the only person you could talk to, who would you prefer it to be?" Johnny Otis would not be a bad choice. He was a drummer, vibraphonist, pianist, and singer; a bandleader, songwriter, night club owner, talent scout, and record producer; a disc jockey, highly-acclaimed artist, author of four books, preacher, social activist, and organic farmer who marketed his own brand of apple juice. We know from his books that he's a great story-teller, and I would have loved to hear more of his reminiscences about the Central Avenue (Los Angeles) jazz and blues scene of the '40s and '50s.
Ioannis Veliotis, the son of Greek immigrants, described himself as a black man by choice.
As a kid, I decided that if our society dictated that one had to be either black or white, I would be black . . . I related to the way of life, the special vitality, the atmosphere of the black community.
He had to defy a California anti-miscegenation law to marry his wife, Phyllis Walker, in 1941. They were married for 70 years.
After working as a drummer in several bands, Otis formed his own band and recorded his first hit, “Harlem Nocturne,” in 1945. It has become a jazz standard. If you're a fan of film noir, this is a song you'd expect to hear on the soundtrack during a late night street scene.
The peak of Otis's creativity occurred between 1949 and 1952, when his band featured Devonia Williams on piano, James von Streeter and later Preston Love on tenor saxophone, and Pete Lewis on guitar. He had a female vocalist, Little Esther, a male vocalist, Mel Walker, and a vocal group, the Robins, who later split into two groups, one of which became the Coasters. Fifteen of his songs made the R&B charts during this period. They can be found on a five CD set from JSP in England, Midnight at the Barrelhouse. My favorite is “Double Crossing Blues,” a duet between Little Esther and Bobby Nunn, one of the Robins' lead singers. Otis's vibes fill in the background nicely. The song contains a politically incorrect joke. A “lady bear” is ghetto slang for an ugly black woman who subdues her man through violence.
As a vocal group fan, one of my favorite Johnny Otis albums is Rock 'n' Roll Hit Parade, released on his own Dig label in 1957. It features remakes of hit songs by the great West Coast group, Arthur Lee Maye and the Crowns, who were called the Jayos when they recorded for Otis. Lee Maye was also a major league outfielder for 11 seasons with the Milwaukee Braves and four other teams. Here's their version of the Moonglows' classic, “Sincerely,” along with "Honey Love" and "Sh-Boom!"
Unfortunately, the song for which Otis will be most remembered is “Willie and the Hand Jive” (1958), a novelty song set to the Bo Diddley beat. I suspect it was a hit because everyone was amazed that they played it on the radio. “Hand jive” was teenage slang for masturbation.
Another great Otis album worth seeking out is The Johnny Otis Show Live at Monterey, recorded at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1970. It's a rhythm and blues review featuring classic artists such as Little Esther, Roy Brown, Pee Wee Crayton, Ivory Joe Hunter, Joe Turner, and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson. By this time, his son Shuggie Otis had taken over as lead guitar.
My choice for the last great Otis album is 1977's Back to Jazz. It's mostly instrumental, but includes this jaw-dropper by Barbara Morrison, "Nigger, Please," with Shuggie on guitar and Eddie Vinson on tenor sax. What other white man except Johnny Otis could have gotten away with this song?
Mort Sahl once said, “We know that communism doesn't work, but what about capitalism?” What we have in America is predatory capitalism. We are told we live in a free enterprise system but, not so. . . Conspiracy of the Rich and Greedy is a more accurate description. The average white American is a victim of predatory capitalism's conspiracy too, but people of color have an extra demon to cope with in racism.
Etta James (1938-2012)
Etta James was one of Johnny Otis's many discoveries. She died last Friday.
I'm not sure I would have wanted to spend time with Etta James. She was bitter about how she had gotten ripped off by former associates. When she performed, I found her comments to sometimes be mean-spirited. Her anger may have been justified, but she had a longer, more successful career than most of her contemporaries. She struggled with addictions, first to heroin, later to prescription drugs. From the '70s on, she battled obesity, which sometimes confined her to a wheelchair, making her unable to perform.
She first recorded in 1954 when she was 16. “The Wallflower,” aka “Roll With Me, Henry,” produced and co-written by Otis, was an answer to “Work With Me, Annie” by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. “Henry” was Hank Ballard, although the role was sung by West Coast vocal group regular Richard Berry.
Both the Ballard and James records had radio censorship problems. “Work,” “rock” and “roll” were all known to be euphemisms for sexual intercourse. The song was covered by white singer Georgia Gibbs as “Dance With Me, Henry,” and she walked off with most of the record sales. Most of James's later '50s recordings were up-tempo rhythm and blues, in the style of Ruth Brown and LaVern Baker.
She hit her stride when she moved to Chess Records in 1959, where she reinvented herself as a powerful soul singer. Between 1960 and 1973, 23 of her songs made the R&B charts. They are available on several sets, including her Chess Box. She was romantically involved with Harvey Fuqua, one of the lead singers of the Moonglows. They recorded together as Etta and Harvey. InCadillac Records, the 2008 film about Chess Records, she was portrayed by Beyonce Knowles. The film will lead future generations to believe she had an affair with Leonard Chess, but this rumor is probably false. “At Last” was her biggest hit of the Chess years, but I've always preferred “I'd Rather Go Blind.”
Later in her career, Etta James expanded her repetoire to include pop and jazz performances. Of her recent CDs, I recommend The Right Time (1992), a back-to-her-roots soul album produced by Jerry Wexler, and Mystery Lady (1994), with the songs of Billie Holiday, for which she received a Grammy as Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Here is "How Deep is the Ocean?" from the latter album. The tenor saxophone solo is by Red Holloway.
Jimmy Castor (1940-2012)
Coming right after the death of these two heavyweights, Jimmy Castor's passing received much less notice. Here's the obit.
Jimmy Castor began his career as part of the “kiddie lead” vocal group fad of the mid-to-late '50s. Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Lewis Lymon and the Teen Chords, the Students, Little Joe and the Thrillers, and the El-Chords were some of the successful groups. The leads were usually teenage boys whose voices had not changed yet. Sometimes they were girls: Lillian Leach of the Mellows and Pearl McKinnon of the Kodoks. Jimmy Castor grew up in the same neighborhood as Frankie and Lewis Lymon. His group, Jimmy and the Juniors, released “I Promise"/"I Know the Meaning of Love" in May 1956. Jimmy's vocal is a little shaky, but that may be part of its charm.
Unfortunately, the Teenagers put out a cover version of "I Promise to Remember" the following month—not a neighborly thing to do. Frankie Lymon's was a more polished performance, and his was the hit version.
Castor recorded sporadically until the '70's, when he formed a funk group, the Jimmy Castor Bunch. They charted five times, their biggest hit being “Troglodyte.” It's not much of a song—just a not-very-funny narration by Castor over a recurring backbeat. This 1973 video will give you a sample of Jimmy Castor in performance.
If you're a vocal group fan, you may have seen Jimmy Castor recently. He and Lewis Lymon alternated singing lead with a Teenagers revival group that performed at oldies shows and on one of T. J. Lubinsky's PBS fund-raisers. Frankie Lymon died of a drug overdose in 1968 at age 25. Among other problems, his voice had changed.
I realize people interested in a blog about social science and politics don't necessarily overlap with blues and jazz fans. I plan to start a second, music blog. Blues fans, especially those living near Pittsburgh, will want to check out Jim White's Blue Notes. New York jazz critic Marc Myers' Jazz Wax is also a class act, often featuring interviews with jazz legends of the past.
