In 1958, I made the daily trek from San Gabriel into Hollywood for my job as the studio Fender Bass player at Johnny Otis' Eldo Records. I was a16 year old high school dropout and barely worth the $10 a side I got for playing on the recordings that came out of the Eldorado Music Studio, located above the Ontra Cafeteria and across the street from Capitol Records on Vine. My boss, Johnny Otis was patient and kind and taught me so much about music and musicianship. He could do anything and did everything. He sang, arranged, played drums, piano, and vibes, and was an incredible recording engineer. I learned from him about dressing appropriately, behaving like a gentleman, and taking care of business. Not that I always did those things but I certainly knew when I was not. I am now 80 and I've spent my life in many forms of show business; performing in night clubs and concerts all over the world, producing records, directing entertainment on cruise ships and night clubs, building a video production company and now, full circle, back to performing in Las Vegas. Mr. Otis, Thank you, Kenny Laursen
Fabulous! I watched "The Johnny Otis Show", and never missed an episode! Johnny was a handsome, and accomplished musician. The fact that he was, as well, an extremely kind and gemerous man, is worth mentioning, as well. Lord, how I miss those days! There was talent. There was dignity. There was a nation, which swelled with pride. There was optimism. As with "The Johnny Otis Show", such things, at least in America, seem to be things of the past...
Hardly anybody left knows about Johnny’s contribution to music. In the early 90’s I took my family to see him perform live in California. Great thrill.
RIP Johnny Otis This is a very sad day in the music world I was born on December 28 as well. Johnny was talented and an innovator in more ways than one!
You go, Johnny O! Thanks for your open-mindedness, your blindness to bigotry, and your warm generous heart toward people of color, especially at a time when Jim Crow resented such unity among the races.You bridged the color spectrum with your music. And thanks for discovering Etta James who joins you in deep sleep today. High "FIVE" to you and Etta, Johnny! You both will forever be remembered always and forever!
Paulette Forman actually at that time greeks were not considered white and were often beaten, sometimes killed, businesses burned down and told not to mix with whites. Google greekrown riots. Also in tarpon springs they were beaten for stealing all the sponge diving jobs. So at this time we would assimilate better with blacks than most whites. My grandfather used to own a store in Harlem that nat king cole would frequent. Times have changed a lot now but Greek American history is different to white Americans history. Very different
Johnny was the only man I ever heard of who joined the black race. He said he felt more comfortable being black. He married a black woman. He was a Greek man. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform in CA in the early 90’s. Pure genius.
@@michaelscoggins3503 THESE DAYS?!.... Where have YOU been? Racism has ALWAYS existed in music, especially here in America! It takes brave souls like Johnnie Otis and others like him to crossover the color lines.
@@pauletteforman I'm not disputing that racism exists in the music industry. Look at people like Eminem and Ryan Upchurch. they were shunned at first in the rap genre because they are white. Same thing happened to black country artists for years. Racism still exists all over the world and every race has people that are guilty of it. That said, I believe that constantly throwing a racial filter on everything doesn't help end it. Just like now, we are talking about race rather than music.
Johnny's backup-singers were known as "The Three Tons of Joy"! And, when we found-out that Johnny was of Greek descent...and, wasn't a Black man...we were floored! In the 1950's, he ran for political office, in Los Angeles, and, by law, he had to list his legal name, for purposes of the election. I believe that it was "Veliotis". What a beautiful man he was...
His book Listen to the Lambs relays a lot of his experience as a Greek kid with only Black friends, also traveling around the south with his band and staying in hotels. The band used to eat Greek food all the time up at his parents' apartment in Oakland.
I applaud and honor you Sir. You are apart of a wonderful innovative generation that introduced the world to rock & roll, true soul, and - as you so eloquently put it - the STROLL (LOL). Keep the spirit of her 50s alive, Thanks for celebrating your youth and sharing it with us. You're an inspiration.
Mr. Otis rubbed shoulders with some of Music's best and was great in his own right. He told his Greek family that he wanted to identify as Black, as well as live as. That warms my heart in light of all the Blacks who don't want to identify themselves. I love and respect my people, I just wish that wasn't so. Rip Mr. Otis
Every time I listen to this song and watch this video it brings on an ear to ear smile. I think its because he obviously truly enjoyed his music. The voice and song dont hurt nun either.
A feel-good song that has stood the test of time in all types of venues. I've seen it done on American Bandstand, high school sock hops, corner crooning, all types of parties, and even weddings. RIP JO.
Born Ioannis Alexandres Veloites, the son of Greek immigrants, Johnny grew up during the Depression in a working class neighborhood in Berkeley, Calif. When he started playing music, he changed his last name to Otis. He played mostly in black clubs, as he explained to Terry Gross of WHYY's Fresh Air in 1989. May his memory be eternal.
When I was just a little kid I was GLUED to the TV any time Johnny Otis was on. I loved his show, I loved his music, and for certain, he'll be missed by any one who ever heard him. Rest in peace Johnny, and thank you for the good times.
I remember seeing Johnny Otis and the Otisettes featuring Shuggie Otis back around 1970-71. They opened for Johnny Winter. Johnny's band was called Johnny Winter And and it included Rick Derringer.
I do not believe he's gone. He just cannot. To me, he lives forever. Thank you Johnny Otis, you gave me a lot. Without your Savoy recordings, I would not be what I am now.
His other son, Johnny Jr. was a staple in the Berkeley East Bay music scene. A great player and one of the nicest people you could meet. He never got the publicity that Shuggie got, but was every bit as good as a musician. what a hat trick.
So cool! My just turned 8 yr old dancer heard this song on a Delta faucet commercial and came in DANCING! I think this would be a fun tap dance song for her & her dance pals. :) Bring back the oldies!
i LOVE this song!!! im surprised that for one that no one gave this a thumbs down(of course they wouldnt) and that two... THAT THIS IS SUCH A GREAT SONG!!!!!!
This has been I great song to hear back in the 60's, now days in 2016 I play for all those husband's who's wives have had complete hysterectomy. A good lesson about seeing their wives from a woman's point.
My, what a lot of offensive and stupid comments on this post! Johnny Otis was a major figure in the history of Rhythm & Blues and Rock & Roll. This is a wonderful clip. I'd love to see the rest of it.The song is properly titled, "Willie and the Hand Jive", and this was the biggest hit for Johnny & his band, always billed as "The Johnny Otis Show". The hand gestures are part of a dance that went along with this song. Many songs of the day promoted a particular dance routine. The Bo Diddley rhythm, prior to Bo's first hit recording, was known as the 'shave and a haircut, two bits' rhythm. As it was well-known priior to Bo Diddley's advent no one has been able to copyright it and many songs have been based on it without fear of lawsuit.
+Ron Scott "The Johnny Otis Show" was his radio dj show on KFOX in LA in the mid 1950 s. 'Harlem Nocturne' was his theme song. Then came the tv show of that name. I was part of the tv show s live audience. The women shown are 'Marie Adams and the Three Tons of Joy'. 'Little Arthur Mathews' and 'Handsome Mel Williams' were regulars on there too Bo s riff was not 'shave and a haircut..'
+Jane Alexander -That's very cool that you were there, Jane. I wish I could say the same. So much great music going on in LA and Oakland back then! Most scholarly commentary about the Bo Diddley beat does reference the 'shave and a haircut' beat. This is quoted from Wikipedia: "The Bo Diddley beat is also akin to the age-old rhythmic pattern best known as "shave and a haircut, two bits." And it's been linked to Yoruba drumming from West Africa.[6]"
*~☆ Racial Draft - 2005 ☆~* 🤵🏿 "We, The Black Delegation, would like to trade Darius Rucker, for the great, Johnny Otis." White Delegation: 🤵🏼"Now wait just a damn minute! You're not exactly just asking for peanuts here." "But, as long as you throw in Al Roker, you got yourself a goddamn deal!" 🤝🏽
I always tuned in to his radio show on KPFK FM, LOS Angeles. I was a student at Chapman College, Orange, 1979. Often I drove on the Santa Ana Freeway, to KPFK. I met all manner of Hollywood souls at KPFK. One was Johnny Otis. We bumped into each other at the side KPFK entrance. The first thing that amazed me, was that he was massive. A real tall tank. Next, was his voice--"How ya' doing man...." One of my treasured memories....
The Great Johnny Otis is a perfect example of (Blackness) it's deeper than skin tone alone, it a spirit, consciousness and a calling. Johnny understood that.
Johnny's original last name was Valiotis. He was of Greek descent, and like many other Greek-Americans such as myself, he was in touch with the fact that Black Africans and Greeks share cultural, historical and even physical (DNA) commonalities. Johnny was one of the earliest Greeks to publicly recognize the Black African conquest, colonization and development of ancient Greece and its civilization. There is a bond between our two peoples, and I as a Greek have always felt much more comfortable among Black Africans and African-Americans than with those of white European ancestry. Many Greeks feel that way, but Johnny was among the first to proudly proclaim this.
The ultimate compliment is that I listened to Johnny Otis's show on KPFA for years and did not know until I read his Obit in the LA Times today that he was white. We will miss your enthusiasm for the emerging blues.
Johnny Otis[1] (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 - January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, arranger, bandleader, talent scout, disc jockey, record producer, television show host, artist, author, journalist, minister, and impresario.[2] A seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll, Otis discovered artists such as Little Esther, Big Mama Thornton, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John and Hank Ballard and Etta James. Known as the original "King of Rock & Roll",[1] he is commonly referred to as the "Godfather of Rhythm and Blues".[3] wikipedia
I met Johnny Otis while he was DJ at KPFA in Berkeley. I couldn't believe my luck. I had bought the 45 when I was about 10 or 12, and here I was kickin' it around with him after a radio show where I was doing the "phone volunteer" thing. He was eating barbecue and asking for someone to make a fresh pot of coffee. I couldn't have been happier if I met Gandhi. Thanks for your thoughtful post.
Ο Τζόνι Ότις ηταν γνωστός ως ο «νονός του Rhythm and Blues”. Είχε ελληνική καταγωγή και το πραγματικό του όνομα ήταν Ιωάννης Βελιώτης. Γεννήθηκε το 1921 στην πόλη Βαγιέχο της Καλιφόρνιας. Οι γονείς του μετανάστευσαν στην Αμερική αρχές του περασμένου αιώνα. Πέθανε το 2012 σε ηλικία 91 ετών και μέχρι σήμερα θεωρείται από τους σημαντικότερους καλλιτέχνες της ρυθμ εν μπλουζ και του ροκ εν ρολ....
And God bless you too and a happy Golden Anniversary to you and the bride of your heart, Mrs. Huff. Yes, may God bless you two with another 50 years! Take care, and keep celebrating life for that is what keeps us young! And Oh, by the way, I'm a female and my name is Paulette (LOL).
Johnny Otis, hero. I try hard to live by his rules. ONly quality counts. In return for mistreatment and terror, black people gave us gifts of blues, jazz, rock 'n roll, gospel ... my skin is white, but don't try to judge my soul.
Johnny loved the black culture so much that he considers himself black...even back then...he married a black woman....and he helped so many black artists...he discovered, Little Esther(Phillips), Sugar Pie DeSanto, and Etta James
