The Johnny Otis Show - Live at Monterey!

If you never had the opportunity to see the Johnny Otis show then I feel badly for you because it was absolutely the best R & B review ever! You felt like you had been to a real SHOW afterwards and the stars you saw were all the real deal. This double set captures them with all barrels blazing at Monterey in 1970.

The Johnny Otis Show Live At Monterey!1. WILLE AND THE HAND JIVE (3:18) (J. Otis) Johnny Otis
2. CRY ME A RIVER BLUES** (4:47) (Arr: Esther Phillips) Little Esther Phillips
3. CLEANHEAD'S BLUES* (4:55) (E. Vinson) Eddie Cleanhead Vinson
4. I GOT A GAL (2:58) (J. Turner) Joe Turner
5. SINCE I MET YOU BABY (2:38) (I.J. Hunter) Ivory Joe Hunter
6. BABY YOU DON'T KNOW (3:01) (R. Milton) Roy Milton
7. PREACHER'S BLUES (3:28) (G Connors) Gene Connors
8. GOOD ROCKIN' TONIGHT (3:27) (R. Brown) Roy Brown
9. THE TIME MACHINE (3:31) (S. Otis)Shuggie Otis
10. MARGIE'S BOOGIE (3:33) (J. Otis) Margie Evans
11. LITTLE ESTHER'S BLUES** BLOWTOP BLUES/ (L. Feather/J. Feather) T BOND BLUES/ (L. Hite) JELLY JELLY (6:50) Little Esther Phillips
12. KIDNEY STEW* (3:08) (L. Blackman-E. Vinson) Eddie Cleanhead Vinson
13. THE THINGS I USED TO DO*** (5:00) (E. Jones) Pee Wee Crayton
14. R.M. BLUES (3:02) (R. Milton) Roy Milton
15. SHUGGIE'S BOOGIE (4:06) (J. Otis-s. Otis) Shuggie Otis
16. YOU BETTER LOOK OUT (4:10) (J. Otis-D. Evans) Delmar Evans
17. GOIN' BACK TO L.A. (2:46) (J. Otis-D. Evans) Johnny Otis & Delmar Evans
18. PLASTIC MAN (4:51) (L. Chandler) Joe Turner
19. BOOGIE WOOGIE BYE BYE (2:38) (J. Otis) Ensemble


Personnel: Melvin Moore, trumpet • Gene "Mighty Flea" Connors, trombone • Presten Love, alto and baritone saxes • Richard Aplanalp, soprano and tenor saxes • Clifford Solomon, tenor sax (all tenor solos) • Big Jim Wynn, baritone sax • Shuggie Otis, guitar (Pee Wee Crayton on "The Things I Used To Do") • Jim (Supe) Bradshaw, rhythm guitar (solo on "Good rockin' Tonight"); harp • Johnny Otis, Roger Spotts, Leonard Feather, piano (Ivory Joe Hunter on "Since I Met you Baby") • Lawrence Slim Dickens, Shuggie Otis, bass • Paul Lagos, drums • Johnny Otis, vibes • Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, alto sax and vocals • Johnny Otis, Esther Phillips, Joe Turner, Ivory Joe Hunter, Roy Milton, Roy Brown, Margie Evans, Delmar "Mighty Mouth" Evans, vocals.

Notes taken from the original album release:

The Historic Rhythm & Blue Extravaganza That Rocked the 1970 Monterey Jazz Festival

"The blues never has been, to my recollection, the occasion for a more joyous celebration of its uniquely vibrant spirit than on a certain day in the late summer of 1970, when Johnny Otis brought his entire azure-indigo caravan of giants to spread their talents over an afternoon on the fairgrounds at Monterey, California.

Here was the consummate proof that where today's music may set up communication and generation gaps, the blues destroys them. On stage, where Shuggie Otis, 16; rhythm guitarist Jim (Supe) Bradshaw, 23; singers Margie Evans and Delmar "Mighty Mouth" (no relation) Evans, both in their 20's; and the rest of the singing and blowing battalion representing every decade on up to Pee Wee Crayton and Big Joe Turner, both in their very late 50's, and Roy Milton, who's up there at the Social Security borderline.

The same with the roaring receptive, over capacity audience. Those who stood up on their seats hollering and testifying, or boogalooed along the aisles, were mostly in the 15-25 bracket, while others, less extroverted, exchanged reminiscences about the first time they had heard the call of the blues, perhaps at some half-remembered dance in the 30's, or on a 78 record player at high school in the 40's and 50's.

That's what this album is all about. This is no gallery of museum pieces set up to rekindle a lost past, no futile exercise in nostalgia; instead it is a meeting ground were ages, races, and backgrounds coalesce, where grooving together is all that matters.

All the other instrumental touches are emotionally strong, tonally robust products of the synthesis forged during the 1940s between jazz and R&B.

Through it all, Johnny Otis remains in firm control, opening the show by reviving his 1958 hit "Willie And The Hand Jive;" soloing and comping on vibes or piano, emceeing and directing his exuberant band through its casual, largely spontaneous arrangements.

There was a lot of love in the air that day. We all felt it, exchanged not only among musicians and singers, but from bandstand to audience and back. Wondering one moment why so many of the true blues pioneers had been short-changed by society, you asked yourself the next minute how a Shuggie Otis or a Supe Bradshaw could align himself so naturally with a music some thought was obsolescent.

On this day the vitality of the blues ws triumphantly reaffirmed. It happened in Monterey-and not long ago. Thanks to Johnny Otis, who put it all together, and the festival's Jimmy Lyons, who brought it onstage, the whole world of the blues burst on us like sunshine on that bright September afternoon."

- Leonard Feather

The Greatest Johnny Otis Show

Okay, let me say first off that I am not impressed by the response from the 30 of you who have downloaded nearly every post here...you have had time to listen so speak up or the door can be locked at any time!

1. Shake It Lucy Baby - Johnny Otis
2. Ma (He's Making Eyes At Me) - Marie Adams   The Three Tons Of Joy
3. (Romance) In The Dark - Marie Adams   The Three Tons Of Joy
4. Willie And The Hand Jive - Johnny Otis
5. Bye Bye Baby - Marie Adams   Johnny Otis
6. Loop De Loop - Marie Adams
7. Can't You Hear Me Callin' - Johnny Otis
8. The Light Still Shines In My Window - Marie Adams
9. Hum Ding A Ling - Johnny Otis
10. Well Well Well - Mel Williams
11. Story Untold - Jeannie Sterling   The Moonbeams
12. All I Want Is Your Love - Marie Adams
13. Good Golly - Johnny Otis
14. You Just Kissed Me Goodbye - Mel Williams
15. Ring-A-Ling - Johnny Otis
16. Three Girls Named Molly, Doin' The Hully Gully - Johnny Otis
17. A Fool In Love - Marie Adams
18. Crazy Country Hop - Johnny Otis
19. Hey Baby, Don't You Know - Johnny Otis
20. I'll Do The Same Thing For You - Marci Lee   Johnny Otis
21. What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For? - Marie Adams
22. Willie Did The Cha Cha - Johnny Otis
23. Mumblin' Mosie - Johnny Otis
24. Let The Sun Shine In My Life - Johnny Otis
25. Castin' My Spell - Marci Lee   Johnny Otis
26. Telephone Baby - Marci Lee   Johnny Otis

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH
by Stuart Colman

In the two short years that The Johnny Otis Show recorded for Capitol, they managed time and again to come up with some of the most eternal sides in rock'n'roll. The legendary Mr Otis adopted the role of ringmaster, whilst the members of his revue took turns to show off their many talents. Marie Adams, the Three Tons of Joy, Mel Williams, Jeannie Sterling and Jackie Kelso all featured on the recordings, backed up by some of the very finest musicians Johnny could assemble.



Their debut Capitol single Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me truly caught the imagination of the British public and went right to the top of the charts in November, 1957.

Back home, the much loved Willie and the Hand Jive hit the US Top Ten the following summer and the whole shooting match went on to spread the word in films and TV. Future gems like Castin' My Spell, Crazy Country Hop and Mumblin' Mosie all helped to sow the seeds for the forthcoming R&B revolution in the UK with many homegrown acts from Cliff Richard to the Animals turning to the Johnny Otis repertoire for a source of material. After the disappointment of previous compilations, from other companies Ace Records have finally restored the balance by bringing together the cream of the Otis crop, including wonderful rock'n'roll tracks such as Bye Bye Baby, All I Want Is Your Love and Shake It Lucy Baby that have not appeared on CD before. This landmark release sets the facts straight on paper too, as the complexities surrounding Johnny's arrival at Capitol have never been fully documented until now. The Greatest Johnny Otis Show is no idle boast, because the team succeeded in capturing such a joyous mood, the excitement still delivers maximum entertainment value. Mr. Otis has nothing to regret.   

Personnel: Johnny Otis (vocals, drums); Marie Adams & The Three Tons of Joy, Marci Lee, Mel Williams (vocals); Jimmy Nolen (guitar); Fred Harmon, Jackie Kelso (saxophone); George Washington , Art Matthews (trombone); Curtis Counce (double bass); Leard Bell (drums).

Johnny Otis - Good Lovin' Blues

Johnny Otis was the child of Greek immigrants Alexander J. Veliotes, a Mare Island longshoreman and grocery store owner, and his wife, the former Irene Kiskakes, a painter.

He was the older brother of Nicholas A. Veliotes, former U.S. Ambassador to Jordan (1978–1981) and to Egypt (1984–1986).

Otis grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood in Berkeley, California, where his father owned and operated a neighborhood grocery store. Otis became well known for his choice to live his professional and personal life as a member of the African-American community.He has written, "As a kid I decided that if our society dictated that one had to be black or white, I would be black."

He was the father of musician Shuggie Otis.

After playing drums in a variety of swing orchestras, including Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders,and Harlan Leonard's Rockets,he founded his own band in 1945 and had one of the most enduring hits of the big band era, "Harlem Nocturne". His band included Wynonie Harris and Charles Brown. In 1947, he and Bardu Ali opened the Barrelhouse Club in the Watts district of Los Angeles, California. He reduced the size of his band and hired singers Mel Walker, Little Esther Phillips and the Robins (who later became the Coasters). He discovered the teenaged Phillips when she won one of the Barrelhouse Club's talent shows. With this band, which toured extensively throughout the United States as the California Rhythm and Blues Caravan, he had a long string of rhythm and blues hits through 1950.

In the late 1940s, he discovered Big Jay McNeely, who then performed on his "Barrelhouse Stomp". He began recording for the Newark, New Jersey-based Savoy label in 1949,and began releasing a stream of records that made the R&B chart, including "Double Crossing Blues", "Mistrustin' Blues" and "Cupid Boogie", which all featured either Little Esther or Mel Walker, or both, and all reached no. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart. He also began featuring himself on vibraphone on many of his recordings.Otis produced and played the vibraphone on Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love", which was no. 1 on the Billboard R and B chart for 10 weeks in 1955.

In January 1951, Otis released "Mambo Boogie," featuring congas, maracas, claves, and mambo saxophone guajeos in a blues progression. According to Vernon Boggs, this was the first R&B mambo. He moved to the Mercury label in 1951, but his chart success began to diminish. However, he discovered Etta James and produced and co-wrote her first hit, "Roll With Me, Henry" (also known as "The Wallflower"). Otis produced, co-wrote, and played drums on the original recording of "Hound Dog" written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller with vocals by Big Mama Thornton, and was given a writing credit on all six of the 1953 releases of the song. He was a successful songwriter; one of his most famous compositions is "Every Beat of My Heart", first recorded by The Royals in 1952 on Federal Records but which became a hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips then just 'Pips' in 1961. He also wrote "So Fine" which was originally recorded by The Sheiks in 1955 on Federal. As an artist and repertory man for King Records he also discovered Jackie Wilson, Hank Ballard, and Little Willie John, among others. He also became an influential disc-jockey in Los Angeles.


After starting his own label, Dig, in 1955, he continued to perform and appeared on regular TV shows in Los Angeles from 1957. On the strength of their success, he signed to Capitol Records. Featuring singer Marie Adams, and with his band now being credited as the Johnny Otis Show, he made a comeback, at first in the British charts with "Ma He's Making Eyes At Me" in 1957. In April 1958, he recorded his best-known recording, "Willie and the Hand Jive", a clave-based vamp, which relates to hand and arm motions in time with the music, called the hand jive. This went on to be a hit in the summer of 1958, peaking at #9 on the U.S. Pop chart, and becoming Otis' only Top 10 single. The single reached no. 1 on the Billboard R and B chart. The song was covered by Eric Clapton in 1974, and became a staple of his live repertoire. Otis' success with the song was short-lived, and he briefly moved to King Records in 1961, where he backed Johnny "Guitar" Watson on some recordings.

In 1969 he recorded an album of sexually explicit material under the name Snatch and the Poontangs.[17] In 1970 he played at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival with Little Esther Phillips and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. In the 1980s he had a weekly radio show in Los Angeles, playing R&B music, and also recorded with his son Shuggie Otis, releasing the 1982 album The New Johnny Otis Show.

Otis continued performing through the 1990s and headlined the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1990 and 2000, although because of his many other interests he went through long periods where he did not perform. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a nonperformer for his work as a songwriter and producer.
Other work

In the 1960s, he entered journalism and politics, losing a campaign for a seat in the California State Assembly (one reason for the loss may be that he ran under his much less well known real name). He then became chief of staff for Democratic Congressman Mervyn M. Dymally.  He was also was the pastor of Landmark Community Church.

In the 1990s, Otis bought a farm near Sebastopol, California, north of San Francisco. For a time he ran a coffee shop/grocery store/blues club, where one of the featured singers was the Georgia-born singer Jackie Payne. Around this time Otis also founded and pastored a new church, Landmark Community Gospel Church, which held weekly rehearsals in the tiny town of Forestville, California, and Sunday services in Santa Rosa, California. Landmark's worship services centered on Otis' preaching and the traditional-style performances of a gospel choir and a male gospel quartet, backed by a rocking band that featured Otis' son Nicky Otis and Shuggie's son, Lucky Otis. The church closed its doors in the mid-1990s.

Otis hosted a radio show on KPFA, The Johnny Otis Show. This show was aired every Saturday morning, live from the Powerhouse Brewery in Sebastopol. Listeners were invited to stop in for breakfast and enjoy the show live. Due to declining health, as well as his relocation to Los Angeles, his participation in the show decreased. The show last aired on August 19, 2006.

He died on January 17, 2012, just three days before Etta James's, whom he discovered in the 1950s.