DUDE WAS THE MAN

I was just kind of reading up on Little Esther, nothing in depth, just a little digging, and I ran into a thing that mentioned she was discovered by Johnny Otis. It got me thinking about Otis, and how completely under appreciated his contributions to music are by the general public. Dude did everything. He was a musician, bandleader, talent scout, radio DJ, songwriter, and a champion of R & B music. The whole shooting match. Besides Phillips, he discovered Big Mama Thornton, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, Hank Ballard and Etta James. He was bros with Big Joe Turner and Don & Dewey, among many others. And his records, oh holy shit. Who else kept current in R & B from the early fifties all the way through the seventies? Scratch your head on that. These are a random sampling, from the early fifties through to what sounds like the late sixties or early seventies.  Check that last one. It's like a precursor to Donna Summer, the whole slow groove with steamy moaning and carrying on. See how these diversions happen? I'm stopping here. Disco frightens me.

 ~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Johnny Otis Quintet - Ali Baba's Boogie mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny Otis - Harlem Nocturne mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Johnny Otis Quintet - Linda Lu mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny Otis - Crazy Country Lover mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny Otis - Willy and the Hand Jive mp3 at Radio George
Johnny Otis - Bye Bye Baby Until We Meet Again mp3 at Internet Archive With Roy Buchanan on guitar.
Johnny Otis Quintet - Chicken Gumbo - mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny Otis - Don't It Make You Feel Good mp3 at Internet Archive