Johnny Otis - Doin the Hully Gully '2021

Tracks list

Tracklist:

01. Ring-A-Ling
02. Hey Baby Dont You Know
03. Let The Sun Shine In My Life
04. Willie Did the Cha Cha
05. Sunset to Dawn
06. Ma (Hes Makin Eyes At Me) [Live]
07. Harlem Nocturne
08. Telephone Baby
09. The Light Still Shines In My Window
10. Three Girls Named Molly Doin the Hully Gully
11. Crazy Country Hop
12. Mambo Boogie
13. All I Want Is Your Love (Live)
14. Willie and the Hand Jive
15. Mumblin Mosie
16. Wedding Boogie
17. Castin My Spell
18. Bye Bye Baby


 Read MoreIt wasnt long before the Alabams owner entreated Otis to assemble
his own orchestra for house-band duties. The groups 1945 debut sides for
Excelsior were solidly in the big-band jazz vein and included an arrangement of
the moody Harlem Nocturne that sold well. Shouter Jimmy Rushing fronted the band
for two tracks at the same date. Otis rep as a drummer was growing; he backed
both Wynonie Harris and Charles Brown (with Johnny Moores Three Blazers) that
same year.

The Otis outfit continued to record for Excelsior through 1947 (one date
featured Big Jay McNeely on sax), but his influence on L.A.s R&B scene soared
exponentially when he and partner Bardu Ali opened the Barrelhouse Club in
Watts. R&B replaced jazz in Otis heart; he pared the big band down and
discovered young talent such as the Robins, vocalists Mel Walker and Little
Esther Phillips, and guitarist Pete Lewis that would serve him well in years to
come.

Otis signed with Newark, New Jersey-based Savoy Records in 1949, and the R&B
hits came in droves: Double Crossing Blues, Mistrustin Blues, and Cupids Boogie
all hit number one that year (in all, Otis scored ten Top Ten smashes that year
alone!); Gee Baby, Mambo Boogie, and All Nite Long lit the lamp in 1951; and
Sunset to Dawn capped his amazing run in 1952 (vocals were shared by Esther,
Walker, and other members of the group). By then, Otis had branched out to play
vibes on many waxings.

In late 1951, Otis moved to Mercury, but apart from a Walker-led version of
Floyd Dixons Call Operator 210, nothing found pronounced success with the
public. A 1953-1955 contract with Don Robeys Peacock logo produced some nice
jump blues sides but no hits (though the Otis orchestra backed one of his many
discoveries, Big Mama Thornton, on her chart-topping Hound Dog, as well as a
young Little Richard while at Peacock). Otis was a masterful talent scout; among
his platinum-edged discoveries were Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, Hank
Ballard, and Etta James (he produced her debut smash Roll with Me Henry).

In 1955, Otis took studio matters into his own hands, starting up his own label,
Dig Records, to showcase his own work as well as his latest discoveries
(including Arthur Lee Maye & the Crowns, Tony Allen, and Mel Williams). Rock &
roll was at its zenith in 1957 when the multi-instrumentalist signed on with
Capitol Records; billed as the Johnny Otis Show, he set the R&B and pop charts
ablaze in 1958 with his shave-and-a-haircut beat, Willie and the Hand Jive,
taking the vocal himself (other singers then with the Otis Show included Mel
Williams and the gargantuan Marie Adams & the Three Tons of Joy). During the
late 50s, Otis hosted his own variety program on L.A. television, starring his
entire troupe (and on one episode, Lionel Hampton), and did a guest shot in a
1958 movie, Juke Box Rhythm.

New Johnny Otis ShowAfter cutting some great rock & roll for Capitol from 1957
to 1959 with only one hit to show for it, Otis dropped anchor at King Records in
1961-1962 (in addition to his own output, Otis band also backed Johnny Guitar
Watson on several sides). Later in the decade, Otis recorded some ribald
material for Kent and watched as his young son Shuggie built an enviable
reputation as a blues guitarist while recording for Columbia. Father and son cut
an album together for Alligator in 1982, accurately entitled The New Johnny Otis
Show.

In later years, the multi-talented Otis added operating a California health-food
emporium to his endless list of wide-ranging accomplishments. He was elected to
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Otis died at home in Altadena,
California in January 2012 at the age of 90. If blues ever boasted a renaissance
man among its ranks, Johnny Otis surely filled that bill. ~ Bill Dahl

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