Johnny Otis

Listen/Download Johnny Otis Show – Keep the Faith Pt1

Listen/Download Johnny Otis Show – Keep the Faith Pt2

Greetings all.

I’m going to get the week started with an update of the medical situation here at the Funky16Corners compound.

I do so not only because many of you have sent along your prayers and good wishes for my wife’s health, but also because the next steps we take will likely effect the weekly workings of the blog*.

Back just before last Halloween my wife was diagnosed with leukemia.

It was, and has been for the last 5+ months been a rather harrowing roller coaster ride for the whole family, but especially Jen.

She has been facing cancer with a remarkable amount of courage.

The next few months will see us moving on to the next, crucial stage in her treatment, a stem cell transplant.

This is not only time consuming (in the hospital for nearly a month and then a few months of frequent outpatient visits) but – as you might imagine – a very serious medical process.

We have been extraordinarily lucky that Jen was able to find a stem cell/bone marrow match in a fairly short period of time, unusual because she doesn’t have any siblings (the first place they generally look to for a transplant).

Jen will be getting her transplant from an unrelated donor.

The donor pool needs to grow so that when people are in need of transplants the doctors have a large and diverse field of samples in which to find a match.

Getting tested for inclusion in the pool is short and painless process.

The bigger (and more diverse) the donor pool is, the greater the likelihood that someone else will be able to find a match and survive leukemia.

If you have the time, watch the video for the Be The Match foundation and/or follow the link to their site.

Once there you can read up on your read ups, register to become a donor (they send you the kit) and increase the possibility that someone out there will find a match.

I’m telling you from personal experience, this is very important, and you can change someone’s life without any risk to your own.

Today’s selection is appropriate not only because the title of the song has become a motto of sort for Funky16Corners, but particularly because the last several months have been all about keeping the faith.

When we marked the passing of the mighty Johnny Otis back in January, I made mention of (but did not own, at the time) the 45 you see before you today.

An unusual omission, when you think of it, since the title is practically inscribed on the Funky16Corners coin of the realm, and it is undeniably an exceptionally groovy bit of soul.

Though Johnny Otis hit the charts consistently in the late 50s and then again a decade later, the period in between produced some remarkable sides.

‘Keep the Faith Pts 1&2’ is one of those classic sounds that skirt the border that runs (and fluctuates) between soul and funk. It is also something that might to lesser ears be filed under ‘novelty’, solely on the basis of the numerous direct and indirect quotes (musical and lyrical) from the popular records of the day.

There are shouts to ‘Try a Little Tenderness’, ‘You Got Me Hummin’, ‘I’m Losing You’, ‘Knock On Wood’, ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor’, ‘Mustang Sally’ and in all likelihood a couple more I’m missing.

However – big however here – what you get on top of the references is a stellar vocal by Johnny himself (where a few years later you’d probably be hearing Delmar Evans), sweet female backing harmonies, some nice, hard drums and a delicious bed of greasy organ.

You also get (this starting to sound like a Ginsu knife commercial yet?) is a very groovy Part 2, in which the offering is mostly (but not entirely) instrumental, the bottom a little more audible and young Shuggie gets to drop a lick here and there.

This is one of those records I am honestly shocked is not a much bigger deal (Part 1 or 2) with the collectors, and the DJs and the dancers.

Eldo is an interesting label in that the bulk of its releases fall between 1960 and 1962, and the rest after it appears to have been reactivated by Otis for a short time in 1968 (when ‘Keep the Faith’ dropped) with a couple of sides by Johnny and a couple by Gene ‘The Mighty Flea’ Connors.

The later stuff isn’t terribly common or cheap, but their not crazy expensive either, falling into that gray area between your run of the mill collectors and (probably ignored by) the high-dollar ballers who think it beneath them to drop anything less than a fat wad on a 45.

It is exceedingly cool, hot enough for any soul night and anyone that says different is gonna get a poke in the eye.

There, I said it.

Dig it, and I’ll see you when I see you.

 

Peace

Larry

 

 

*Though I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to do yet (this is all a day to day process) I suspect that I may have to reduce the posting frequency for a time

 

 

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC  (click on the logos).

 

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

A Younger Johnny Otis

Shuggie, Delmar and Johnny doing the Watts Breakaway

Johnny Otis in later years

Listen/Download -Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl

Listen/Download -Johnny Otis Show – Watts Breakaway

Listen/Download -Preston Love – Cool Ade

Listen/Download -The Mighty Flea – Ode To Billie Joe

Greetings all.

NOTE: I had planned to post this tribute to Johnny Otis on Monday. However, the word came down today that Miss Etta James had passed away, so I’m moving this post up a few days, and will pay tribute to Etta after the weekend.

A few days back I heard that the mighty Johnny Otis had passed away at the ripe old age of 90.

It had occurred to me that here in the year 2012, the name Johnny Otis would very likely be unfamiliar to many and known only peripherally (like they know they name but not the music behind it) to others.

Certainly many of you fine people that fall by here on the reg know and love not only the music he made, but much of the music that he facilitated, whether as talent scout, bandleader or even as father (on account of Shuggie is his son).

The sounds of Johnny Otis have been in my ears since I was a kid.

Though it’s fair to say that much of what I dig these days is his later funk and soul jams, I spent most of my formative years listening to oldies radio, which is why my ears (and head) are where they are now.

Any oldies station worth its salt would have been spinning his best known record, 1958’s ‘Willie and the Hand Jive’, though that was not his first or biggest hit* (he’d topped the R&B charts several times since 1950) but the first one to cross over to the pop chart (where it was Top 10).

Born John Veliotes in 1921, he got his start drumming in swing bands before starting his own outfit and hitting with ‘Harlem Nocturne’ in 1945.

Though he continued to record, he diversified, opening his own nightclub, working as a talent scout (he discovered both Little Esther Phillips and Etta James), A&R man for King Records (among other labels) and disc jockey.

Otis was particularly important because over the many decades of his career he touched on almost all aspects of black music (as it evolved) during that time, recording himself, or with others in blues, R&B, jazz, soul and funk.

It’s almost fitting to look at Johnny Otis as the center of an ever-expanding musical “galaxy” of sorts, with him as the hub around which of a wide variety of performers and supporting players expanded out into the world.

From his earliest days on Los Angeles’ Central Avenue scene, through his work with the revolving cast of the Johnny Otis Show (musicians and vocalists, performing and recording), on through his radio work Otis was constantly making or breaking music in some capacity. That he was able to do this in a professional capacity for almost 70 years is truly amazing.

The four tracks I bring you today have all appeared here at the blog over the years, and represent an interesting cross-section of Otis’ late 60s/early 70s funk and soul recordings.

The first two are the best known funk tracks recorded by the Johnny Otis Show, ‘Watts Breakaway’ and ‘Country Girl’, both featuring Johnny, his son Shuggie (you all know Shuggie, yes?) and vocalist Delmar Evans. Both tracks are prime, dance floor funk with the addition of sharp, often funny lyrics (especially ‘Country Girl’ which hit the R&B Top 40 in 1969).

The second pair of tracks are by Johnny Otis satellites/sidemen saxophonist Preston Love and trombonist Gene ‘The Mighty Flea’ Connors.

Preston Love’s ‘Cool Ade’ has the same humorous vibe (as well as Shuggie’s guitar) but moves at a slightly slower pace.

The Mighty Flea’s version of ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ is one of the funkier outings on that tune, with organ, drum breaks and Connors working the trombone in a Fred Wesley style. Otis and his pals also made some other excellent, in-demand funky 45s (with the same party vibe) for the Eldo label like ‘Keep the Faith’ and ‘Banana Peels’.

It also bears mentioning (once again) that the Vibrettes funk classic ‘Humpty Dump’ emerged from the Johnny Otis laboratory, not – as is often reported – that of Mr Eddie Bo.

That said, there is a lot more music out there to add to the Johnny Otis story.

I for one am going to settle in with a copy of ‘Midnight at the Barrelhouse: The Johnny Otis Story’ and get my learn on.

I hope you dig the tunes, and raise a glass (or perhaps a little hell) in memory of one of the true greats, Mr Johnny Otis.

 

Peace

Larry

 

*If mid-60s boogaloo is your bag, make sure you check out Castor’s Smash records material, which is excellent.

 

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

 

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.