38 Facts About Johnny Otis

Johnny Otis discovered numerous artists early in their careers who went on to become highly successful in their own right, including Little Esther Phillips, Etta James, Alan O'Day, Big Mama Thornton, Johnny Ace, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, Hank Ballard, and The Robins, among many others.

Johnny Otis had a younger sister, Dorothy, and a younger brother, Nicholas A Veliotes, who became the US Ambassador to Jordan and Egypt.

Johnny Otis grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood in Berkeley, California, where his father owned a grocery store.

Johnny Otis became known for his choice to live his professional and personal life as a member of the African-American community.

On May 2,1941, when Johnny Otis was 19, he married Phyllis Walker, an 18-year-old woman of African American and Filipino descent from Oakland, whom he had known since childhood.

Johnny Otis began playing drums as a teenager, having bought a set by forging his father's signature on a credit slip.

Johnny Otis joined a local band, the West Oakland House Rockers, with his pianist friend "Count" Otis Matthews.

Johnny Otis 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.

Johnny Otis's band included Wynonie Harris, Charles Brown, and Illinois Jacquet, among others.

Johnny Otis discovered the teenaged Esther Jones when she won a talent show at the Barrelhouse Club.

Johnny Otis discovered the tenor saxophonist Big Jay McNeely, who played on his up-tempo "Barrelhouse Stomp".

Johnny Otis began playing the vibraphone on many of his recordings.

Johnny Otis discovered the singer Etta James, who was then 13 years old, at one of his talent shows.

Johnny Otis produced and co-wrote her first hit, The Wallflower.

In 1952, while in Houston, Texas, Johnny Otis auditioned the singer Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton.

Johnny Otis produced, co-wrote, and played drums on her 1953 recording of "Hound Dog" ; he and his band provided the backup "howling" vocals.

Johnny Otis had a legal dispute with the songwriting duo over the credits after he learned that Leiber and Stoller had revised the contractual agreement before the singer Elvis Presley recorded a new version of the song, which quickly became a number 1 hit.

The judge decided the case in favor of the defendants, ruling that the first contract with Johnny Otis was null and void because they were minors when they signed it.

Otis hosted a television show, The Johnny Otis Show, and became an influential disc jockey in Los Angeles, with a program on radio station KFOX in Long Beach in 1955.

In 1955, Johnny Otis started his own label, Ultra Records.

Johnny Otis continued to perform and appeared on TV shows in Los Angeles from 1957.

In 1959, Johnny Otis auditioned the Coachella Valley, CA band the Renes which featured a young Alan O'Day on vocals.

Impressed, Johnny Otis recorded and produced the band performing three O'Day originals and a few covers at El Dorado Studios in Los Angeles.

Some featured players are no more than Johnny Otis's hired hands, including guitarist Shuggie O But Roy Milton, Big Joe Turner, Ivory Joe Hunter, Little Esther Phillips, Roy Brown, and Cleanhead Vinson are a cast that beats anything Richard Nader's ever put into the Garden.

Johnny Otis released Spirit of the Black Territory Bands in 1992, for which he was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Johnny Otis moved the festival to the city of San Dimas, where it ran annually in association with the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation for twenty years, until 2006.

Johnny Otis continued his weekly radio program from KPFK's sister station KPFA in Berkeley, California, which aired every Saturday from 9am to noon.

Johnny Otis performed across the United States and Europe well through the 1990s, headlining the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1990 and 2000.

Johnny Otis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame in 1994.

Johnny Otis lost an election for a seat in the California State Assembly.

Johnny Otis then became deputy chief of staff to state Assemblyman, later, Democratic Congressman, Mervyn M Dymally.

Johnny Otis founded and preached in the New Landmark Community Gospel Church, which held Sunday services in Santa Rosa, California.

Landmark's worship services centered on Johnny Otis's preaching and the traditional-style performances of a vocal group and choir backed by his rhythm section and an organist.

The Johnny Otis Show, relocated from KPFK to sister station KPFA in Berkeley, California, where it aired on Saturday mornings.

Johnny Otis taught Music 15-B: Jazz, Blues and Popular Music in American Culture, a 3-unit Peralta Community College District class.

Johnny Otis died of natural causes on January 17,2012, in the Altadena area of Los Angeles.

Johnny Otis died three days before Etta James, whom he had discovered in the early 1950s.

Johnny Otis is interred with his wife at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, California, US.