Shuggie Otis
Encyclopedia
Shuggie Otis is an American singer-songwriter
, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist
.
Otis' composition "Strawberry Letter 23
" (as recorded by The Brothers Johnson) topped the Billboard
R&B chart
and reached #5 of the Billboard Hot 100
chart in 1977. He also achieved commercial success with his 1974 single "Inspiration Information" (from the album of the same name), reaching #56 on the R&B chart.
, California
, Otis is the son of rhythm and blues
pioneer
, musician
, bandleader
, and impresario
Johnny Otis
and wife Phyllis. The name 'Shuggie' (short for "sugar", according to his mother) was coined by Phyllis when he was a newborn. Otis began playing guitar at age two and performing professionally with his father's band at the age of twelve, often disguising himself with dark glasses and a false moustache so that he could play with his father's band in after-hours nightclub
s.
Otis, primarily known as a guitarist
, also sings and plays a multitude of other instruments. While growing up with and being heavily influenced by countless legendary blues, jazz, and R&B musicians in his father Johnny's immediate circle, Otis began to also gravitate towards the popular music of his generation such as Sly Stone
, Jimi Hendrix
, and Arthur Lee
of the band Love
. In 1969, Al Kooper
asked Otis to be the featured guest on the second installment of the "Super Session
" album series which had previously included Stephen Stills
and Mike Bloomfield
. Kooper and the then-fifteen-year-old Otis recorded the whole album over one weekend in New York. Immediately returning to Los Angeles, Otis, along with his father and singer Delmar 'Mighty Mouth' Evans on the album "Cold Shot", released in 1969 on the Los Angeles
-based Kent label. Another oddly obscure album this three-man team recorded was the extremely rare and risque "Snatch & The Poontangs" (rated X due to its explicit lyrical content), where Otis recorded tracks under the pseudonym
"Prince Wunnerful".
Otis then released his first solo album later that year entitled "Here Comes Shuggie Otis" on Epic Records
. Countless musicians were his guests on this debut attempt, including Johnny, Leon Haywood
, Al McKibbon
, Wilton Felder
, & more. This further established his reputation and catapulted his fame into the attention of B. B. King
, who was quoted in a 1970 issue of Guitar Player
magazine admitting Otis was "his favorite new guitarist". Some of the artists Otis performed and recorded with during that time include Frank Zappa
(having played electric bass
on "Peaches en Regalia" on the 1969 album "Hot Rats
"), Etta James
, Eddie Vinson
, Richard Berry
, Louis Jordan
, and Bobby 'Blue' Bland, among many others.
The album Otis received the most notoriety for was his second Epic Records
release in 1971, "Freedom Flight", which featured his famous hit "Strawberry Letter 23
". Both the album and single reached the Billboard Top 200 and caught the attention of Brothers Johnson
guitarist
George Johnson, who then played it for producer
Quincy Jones
. They covered the song and it instantly became a smash hit. Even though Otis played most of his own parts in the studio, the lineup on this album was quite extensive, including keyboardist
George Duke
and Aynsley Dunbar
of Frank Zappa
, Journey
, and Whitesnake
fame.
In 1974, Otis released "Inspiration Information", his third and final album for Epic Records
. The album had taken almost three years to finish. All the songs were written and arranged by Otis himself, who played almost exclusively every musical instrument
on the album (except for horns and various stringed instruments). However, despite its long-awaited impact, "Inspiration Information" had but one single (the title track) reach the Billboard Top 200. After the album's release, Otis was approached by Billy Preston
on behalf of The Rolling Stones
, asking him to join the band for their upcoming world tour. He declined the offer, along with the chance to work with Quincy Jones
in helping produce Otis's next album. After a series of similar refusals, Otis gained the reputation of 'taking his time', and his recording contract
with Epic Records
was nullified. Otis' only credited works throughout the mid-1970s were done as a session musician
for his father's recording projects.
"Inspiration Information" gained a huge cult following during the 1990s with the emergence of rare groove
and acid jazz
. It was lauded by such musical luminaries as Prince
and Lenny Kravitz
. Due in part to this regained interest, the album was re-released on April 3, 2001, by David Byrne
's independent label, Luaka Bop
Records. This CD re-issue includes all 9 original album tracks plus four songs taken from Otis' 1971 album "Freedom Flight" and features new cover art, liner notes, and exclusive never-seen-before photos.
Otis is featured in every one of his father Johnny's books, as well as "Alligator Records Presents West Coast Blues", issued in August 1998.
Recently, Otis was heard in an exclusive radio interview claiming his extremely long-awaited fourth album (as yet untitled) will be released sometime in 2012 on his own recording label. It is rumored to feature all original compositions written from 1975 to the present, including live material from some of his rare performances.
's infamous all-girl group, the GTO's), and together they had a son, Johnny III (who goes by Lucky). A few years later, Otis and Judith divorced. He then remarried Lillian Wilson, daughter of famed trumpeter, bandleader
, and Latin jazz
pioneer
Gerald Wilson
, and they had a son, Eric (whom Lillian named after her father Gerald's close friend and bandmate Eric Dolphy
). In the spring of 1991, Otis and his family relocated to Sonoma County, California
. Then in August 2001, Lillian passed away from lupus
and complications from drinking
. Since moving back to Southern California
in 2006, Otis has made but a handful of sporadic public appearances.
Both Lucky Otis and Eric Otis are also musicians based in the Los Angeles
area.
With The Johnny Otis
Show
With Al Kooper
With Preston Love
With Guitar Slim Green
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
.
Otis' composition "Strawberry Letter 23
Strawberry Letter 23
"Strawberry Letter 23" is a song written by Shuggie Otis, although known most prominently by the version recorded by The Brothers Johnson. Otis wrote the song for a girlfriend who used strawberry-scented paper when she wrote letters to him. George Johnson of The Brothers Johnson was dating one of...
" (as recorded by The Brothers Johnson) topped the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
and reached #5 of the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in 1977. He also achieved commercial success with his 1974 single "Inspiration Information" (from the album of the same name), reaching #56 on the R&B chart.
Biography
Born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Otis is the son of rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
pioneer
Innovator
An innovator in a general sense, is a person or an organization who is one of the first to introduce into reality something better than before. That often opens up a new area for others and achieves an innovation.-History:...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
, and impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis is an American singer, musician, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, arranger, recording artist, record producer, vibraphonist, drummer, percussionist, bandleader, and impresario.He is commonly referred to as The Godfather Of Rhythm And Blues.-Personal life:Otis, the son of Alexander...
and wife Phyllis. The name 'Shuggie' (short for "sugar", according to his mother) was coined by Phyllis when he was a newborn. Otis began playing guitar at age two and performing professionally with his father's band at the age of twelve, often disguising himself with dark glasses and a false moustache so that he could play with his father's band in after-hours nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s.
Otis, primarily known as a guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, also sings and plays a multitude of other instruments. While growing up with and being heavily influenced by countless legendary blues, jazz, and R&B musicians in his father Johnny's immediate circle, Otis began to also gravitate towards the popular music of his generation such as Sly Stone
Sly Stone
Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, and Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee (musician)
Arthur Lee was the frontman, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of the Los Angeles rock band Love, best known for the critically acclaimed 1967 album, Forever Changes.-Early years:...
of the band Love
Love (band)
Love was an American rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer/songwriter Arthur Lee and lead guitarist Johnny Echols...
. In 1969, Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
asked Otis to be the featured guest on the second installment of the "Super Session
Super Session
-Personnel:* Al Kooper — vocals, piano, organ, ondioline, electric guitar, twelve-string guitar* Mike Bloomfield — guitars on side one, reissue tracks 10, 12, 13* Stephen Stills — guitars on side two, reissue track 11...
" album series which had previously included Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
and Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
. Kooper and the then-fifteen-year-old Otis recorded the whole album over one weekend in New York. Immediately returning to Los Angeles, Otis, along with his father and singer Delmar 'Mighty Mouth' Evans on the album "Cold Shot", released in 1969 on the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based Kent label. Another oddly obscure album this three-man team recorded was the extremely rare and risque "Snatch & The Poontangs" (rated X due to its explicit lyrical content), where Otis recorded tracks under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Prince Wunnerful".
Otis then released his first solo album later that year entitled "Here Comes Shuggie Otis" on Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
. Countless musicians were his guests on this debut attempt, including Johnny, Leon Haywood
Leon Haywood
Otha Leon Haywood is an American funk and soul singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 1975 hit single "I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You", which has been much sampled by Dr. Dre and others....
, Al McKibbon
Al McKibbon
Al McKibbon was an American jazz double bassist, known for his work in bop, hard bop, and Latin jazz.In 1947, after working with Lucky Millinder, Tab Smith, J. C. Heard, and Coleman Hawkins, he replaced Ray Brown in Dizzy Gillespie's band, in which he played until 1950...
, Wilton Felder
Wilton Felder
Wilton Lewis Felder is both a saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of The Crusaders, initially called the Jazz Crusaders. Felder, Wayne Henderson, Joe Sample, and Stix Hooper founded the group while in high school in Houston...
, & more. This further established his reputation and catapulted his fame into the attention of B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
, who was quoted in a 1970 issue of Guitar Player
Guitar Player
Guitar Player is a popular magazine for guitarists founded in 1967. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print since the late 1960s and during the 1980s, under editor Tom Wheeler, the publication was...
magazine admitting Otis was "his favorite new guitarist". Some of the artists Otis performed and recorded with during that time include Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
(having played electric bass
Electric Bass
Electric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...
on "Peaches en Regalia" on the 1969 album "Hot Rats
Hot Rats
Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa. It was released in October 1969. Five of the six songs are instrumental . It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original Mothers of Invention...
"), Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, Eddie Vinson
Eddie Vinson
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was accidentally destroyed by lye contained in a hair straightening product.-Biography:Vinson was born in Houston, Texas...
, Richard Berry
Richard Berry
Richard Berry was an African American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups in the 1950s, including The Flairs and The Robins....
, Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
, and Bobby 'Blue' Bland, among many others.
The album Otis received the most notoriety for was his second Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
release in 1971, "Freedom Flight", which featured his famous hit "Strawberry Letter 23
Strawberry Letter 23
"Strawberry Letter 23" is a song written by Shuggie Otis, although known most prominently by the version recorded by The Brothers Johnson. Otis wrote the song for a girlfriend who used strawberry-scented paper when she wrote letters to him. George Johnson of The Brothers Johnson was dating one of...
". Both the album and single reached the Billboard Top 200 and caught the attention of Brothers Johnson
Brothers Johnson
The Brothers Johnson is a band consisting of American musicians and brothers George aka 'Lightnin' Licks' and Louis E. Johnson aka 'Thunder Thumbs'.-Formation:...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
George Johnson, who then played it for producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
. They covered the song and it instantly became a smash hit. Even though Otis played most of his own parts in the studio, the lineup on this album was quite extensive, including keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
George Duke
George Duke
George Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
and Aynsley Dunbar
Aynsley Dunbar
Aynsley Thomas Dunbar is an English drummer. He has worked with some of the top names in rock, including Eric Burdon, John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, David Bowie, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar, UFO, and Journey...
of Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
, and Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
fame.
In 1974, Otis released "Inspiration Information", his third and final album for Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
. The album had taken almost three years to finish. All the songs were written and arranged by Otis himself, who played almost exclusively every musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
on the album (except for horns and various stringed instruments). However, despite its long-awaited impact, "Inspiration Information" had but one single (the title track) reach the Billboard Top 200. After the album's release, Otis was approached by Billy Preston
Billy Preston
William Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
on behalf of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, asking him to join the band for their upcoming world tour. He declined the offer, along with the chance to work with Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
in helping produce Otis's next album. After a series of similar refusals, Otis gained the reputation of 'taking his time', and his recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
was nullified. Otis' only credited works throughout the mid-1970s were done as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
for his father's recording projects.
"Inspiration Information" gained a huge cult following during the 1990s with the emergence of rare groove
Rare groove
Rare groove is defined as very hard to source or relatively obscure soul or jazz music. Rare groove is primarily associated with funk, jazz and pop, but is also connected to sub-genres including jazz fusion, Latin jazz, soul, R&B, northern soul, and disco. Vinyl records that fall into this...
and acid jazz
Acid jazz
Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly looped beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic dance: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd and Grant Green are...
. It was lauded by such musical luminaries as Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
and Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
. Due in part to this regained interest, the album was re-released on April 3, 2001, by David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
's independent label, Luaka Bop
Luaka Bop
Luaka Bop is a world music-oriented record label established by David Byrne, former guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer of the art rock/new wave band Talking Heads. It has been a wholly independent label since leaving V2 in 2006. Previous distribution relationships included Warner and Virgin...
Records. This CD re-issue includes all 9 original album tracks plus four songs taken from Otis' 1971 album "Freedom Flight" and features new cover art, liner notes, and exclusive never-seen-before photos.
Otis is featured in every one of his father Johnny's books, as well as "Alligator Records Presents West Coast Blues", issued in August 1998.
Recently, Otis was heard in an exclusive radio interview claiming his extremely long-awaited fourth album (as yet untitled) will be released sometime in 2012 on his own recording label. It is rumored to feature all original compositions written from 1975 to the present, including live material from some of his rare performances.
Personal Life
Little is known of Otis' private affairs, as he is considered by most who know him to have always been reclusive. While still a teenager, he married Judith Peters (aka Miss Mercy of Frank ZappaFrank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
's infamous all-girl group, the GTO's), and together they had a son, Johnny III (who goes by Lucky). A few years later, Otis and Judith divorced. He then remarried Lillian Wilson, daughter of famed trumpeter, bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
, and Latin jazz
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is the general term given to jazz with Latin American rhythms.The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:# Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova...
pioneer
Innovator
An innovator in a general sense, is a person or an organization who is one of the first to introduce into reality something better than before. That often opens up a new area for others and achieves an innovation.-History:...
Gerald Wilson
Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson is an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, 8 time Grammy nominee, and educator. He has been based in Los Angeles since the early 1940s....
, and they had a son, Eric (whom Lillian named after her father Gerald's close friend and bandmate Eric Dolphy
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s...
). In the spring of 1991, Otis and his family relocated to Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
. Then in August 2001, Lillian passed away from lupus
Lupus
Lupus most commonly refers to the disease systemic lupus erythematosus.Lupus may also refer to:-Medicine:* Lupus erythematosus, a chronic autoimmune disease with several different forms...
and complications from drinking
Drinking
Drinking is the act of consuming water or a beverage through the mouth. Water is required for many of life’s physiological processes. Both excessive and inadequate water intake are associated with health problems.-Physiology:...
. Since moving back to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
in 2006, Otis has made but a handful of sporadic public appearances.
Both Lucky Otis and Eric Otis are also musicians based in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area.
Discography
Solo- "Here Comes Shuggie OtisHere Comes Shuggie OtisHere Comes Shuggie Otis is the second album by Shuggie Otis. Released in 1970 on Epic Records.-Track listing:#"Oxford Gray" 6:53 #"Jennie Lee" 2:15 #"Bootie Cooler" 2:41 #"Knowing " 2:35 #"Funky Thithee" 3:15...
" (1969), Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A... - "Freedom FlightFreedom Flight (Shuggie Otis album)Freedom Flight , released in the fall of 1971 on Epic Records, is the third album by Shuggie Otis. The album contains the original version of "Strawberry Letter 23", a 1977 hit for The Brothers Johnson.-Track listing:...
" (1971), Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A... - "Inspiration InformationInspiration Information-Reception:Released in Fall 1974 on Epic Records. Virtually ignored upon release, it found a new life when it was re-released on David Byrne's independent label, Luaka Bop Records on April 3, 2001...
" (1974), Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
With The Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis is an American singer, musician, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, arranger, recording artist, record producer, vibraphonist, drummer, percussionist, bandleader, and impresario.He is commonly referred to as The Godfather Of Rhythm And Blues.-Personal life:Otis, the son of Alexander...
Show
- "Snatch & The Poontangs" (1969), Kent RecordsKent RecordsKent Records was a Los Angeles based record label, launched in the 1960s by the Bihari brothers. It was a follow up to the bankrupted Modern Records and reissued Modern's records. It was later bought by Ace Records, England, which used the label name to release Northern Soul records.The label...
- "Cold Shot!" (1969), Kent RecordsKent RecordsKent Records was a Los Angeles based record label, launched in the 1960s by the Bihari brothers. It was a follow up to the bankrupted Modern Records and reissued Modern's records. It was later bought by Ace Records, England, which used the label name to release Northern Soul records.The label...
- "Cuttin' Up!" (1969), Kent RecordsKent RecordsKent Records was a Los Angeles based record label, launched in the 1960s by the Bihari brothers. It was a follow up to the bankrupted Modern Records and reissued Modern's records. It was later bought by Ace Records, England, which used the label name to release Northern Soul records.The label...
- "The Johnny Otis Show Live At Monterey!" (1970), CBS RecordsCBS RecordsCBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
With Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
- "Kooper SessionKooper SessionKooper Session is the second-in-line of the Super Session albums featuring singer-songwriter Al Kooper. Joining Kooper in the guitar slot is 15-year-old phenomenon Shuggie Otis, son of legendary rhythm and blues pioneer Johnny Otis....
" (1969), CBS RecordsCBS RecordsCBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
With Preston Love
Preston Love
Preston Haines Love was a renowned alto saxophonist, bandleader and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska.-Biography:Preston Love grew up in North Omaha and graduated from North High....
- "Preston Love's Omaha-Bar-B-Q" (1969), Kent RecordsKent RecordsKent Records was a Los Angeles based record label, launched in the 1960s by the Bihari brothers. It was a follow up to the bankrupted Modern Records and reissued Modern's records. It was later bought by Ace Records, England, which used the label name to release Northern Soul records.The label...
With Guitar Slim Green
- "Stone Down Blues" (1970), Kent RecordsKent RecordsKent Records was a Los Angeles based record label, launched in the 1960s by the Bihari brothers. It was a follow up to the bankrupted Modern Records and reissued Modern's records. It was later bought by Ace Records, England, which used the label name to release Northern Soul records.The label...
Compilations
- "Shuggie's Boogie: Shuggie Otis Plays The Blues" (1994), Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
/Legacy RecordingsLegacy RecordingsLegacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated... - "In Session: Great Rhythm & Blues" (2002), Golden Lane Records
Samples
- "Island Letter" sampled by Digable PlanetsDigable PlanetsDigable Planets is an American alternative hip hop trio based in New York City, composed of Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler , Mary Ann "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira and Craig "Doodlebug" Irving . They released their debut album Reachin' in 1993, and their follow-up album Blowout Comb in 1994...
for the track "For Corners" from the album "Blowout CombBlowout CombBlowout Comb is the second studio album by American hip hop group Digable Planets, released October 18, 1994, on Pendulum/EMI Records. The album is titled after a grooming product that was used popularly by African Americans during the 1970s, amid the trend of the Afro hair style...
" (1994). - "Strawberry Letter 23" sampled by DJ QuikDJ QuikDavid Martin Blake , better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is an MC and record producer. According to Quik himself, his stage name reflects his ability to produce records in short time....
for the track "Dollaz + Sense" from the album "Safe + Sound" (1995). - Also sampled by OutKastOutKastOutkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
for the track "Ms. Jackson" from the album "StankoniaStankoniaStankonia is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo OutKast, released October 31, 2000 on La Face Records. The album debuted at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling over 530,000 copies the first week. Stankonia received general acclaim from music critics, based on an aggregate...
" (2001). - Also sampled by Beyoncé for the track "Be With You" from the album "Dangerously In LoveDangerously in LoveDangerously in Love is the debut solo album of American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles, released on June 22, 2003, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in 2002 to 2003 at several studios, during the hiatus of her then-group Destiny's Child...
" (2003). - "Rainy Day" sampled by Beyoncé for the track "Gift from Virgo" from the album "Dangerously In LoveDangerously in LoveDangerously in Love is the debut solo album of American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles, released on June 22, 2003, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in 2002 to 2003 at several studios, during the hiatus of her then-group Destiny's Child...
" (2003). - "Oxford Gray" sampled by RJD2RJD2RJD2 is an American music producer, singer and musician. RJD2 was born in Eugene, Oregon, and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was signed to the Definitive Jux label where he released two largely instrumental hip hop albums and has produced tracks...
for the track "Ring Finger" from the album "Since We Last SpokeSince We Last SpokeSince We Last Spoke is the second studio album by American hip hop producer & singer RJD2. It was released on May 18, 2004 by the Definitive Jux label...
" (2004). - "Not Available" sampled by J DillaJ DillaJames Dewitt Yancey , better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan...
for the track "Donuts (Outro)" from the album "Donuts" (2006). - Aht Uh Mi Hed sampled by MýaMya-A person:* Bo Mya , Chief Commander of the Karen National Union* Mýa , American R&B singer-songwriter and actress** Mýa , a 1998 album by Mýa-A code:* Burmese language, ISO 639-3 code is mya* Moruya Airport's IATA code...
for the track Things Come and Go
Guest appearances
- BassBassBass or Basses may refer to:*Bass , describing low-frequency sound*Bass , various freshwater and saltwater species*Bass Brewery, a British brewery-Music:*Bass clef, the musical clef used for lower-sounding instruments and voices...
for Frank ZappaFrank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
's track "Peaches en Regalia" from the album Hot RatsHot RatsHot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa. It was released in October 1969. Five of the six songs are instrumental . It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original Mothers of Invention...
" (1969). - Electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
for Mos DefMos DefDante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
's track "Blue Black Jack" from the album The New DangerThe New DangerThe New Danger is the second studio album by American hip hop artist Mos Def, released October 19, 2004 on Rawkus and Geffen Records in the United States. The album was also released in Canada and continental Europe through Geffen, and it featured distribution in the United Kingdom on Island Records...
" (2004).
See also
- Psychedelic soulPsychedelic soulPsychedelic soul, sometimes called black rock, is a sub-genre of soul music, which mixes the characteristics of soul with psychedelic rock...
- List of Greek Americans
- List of Frank Zappa musicians
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...
External links
- Shuggie Otis Biography on the Luaka BopLuaka BopLuaka Bop is a world music-oriented record label established by David Byrne, former guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer of the art rock/new wave band Talking Heads. It has been a wholly independent label since leaving V2 in 2006. Previous distribution relationships included Warner and Virgin...
website - Shuggie Otis Interviewed in October, 2009 on KKZQKKZQKKZQ is a commercial radio station registered to Tehachapi, California, and broadcasting from Palmdale, California to the Antelope Valley area...
with Jeff DuranJeff DuranJeff Dandurand ,, mostly known as Jeff Duran, is an American radio personality, comedian, musician and former child actor who is based in Los Angeles, California.-Child actor:...
(YouTube audio transcript)