We send our deepest condolences out to both the families of Johnny Otis and Etta James, so ironic that they would pass within a day of each other. Both will be missed and their music will carry their memories on through the future.
Etta James:
Soul legend dies in California The legendary Etta James has passed. Within days of her birthday January 25, our Etta is gone, but her music will live on forever.
Manager Lupe de Leon said the singer died early Friday at a hospital in Riverside, California. She was 73 years old.
Husband Artis Mills and her sons were at her side, de Leon said. "It's a tremendous loss for her fans around the world," he said. "She'll be missed. A great American singer. Her music defied category."
James' enduring hits include the yearning, passionate wedding "At Last" - sung by Beyonce to President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle during his 2008 inauguration - and "Tell Mama".
The singer, who also suffered from kidney diseases and dementia, was admitted to hospital last month as she was struggling to breathe. She had been in failing health for several years. In December her doctor said James was considered terminally ill, and she communicated mostly with nods and simple words. The three-time Grammy Award singer had also battled obesity and was addicted to heroin for many years. On January 6 her manager announced that she had left hospital and was resting at home with her husband and her doctor. "We all think it's best for her to be at home," de Leon said. It is not clear when she was readmitted to hospital.
James was a key figure in the early days of R&B music with hit songs like "The Wallflower" and "Good Rockin' Daddy". But it was her 1961 recording of the ballad "At Last" that put her on the map. She currently has a CD out called "The Dreamer." She would have turned 74 on Wednesday. During her illness, her husband Mills and her two sons fought bitterly over control of her $1 million estate, though a deal was later struck keeping Mills as the conservator and capping the singer's expenses at $350,000.
Boldness was as much a trademark of James, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as her platinum-dyed mane. She scored her first hit when she was just a teenager with the suggestive "Roll With Me, Henry," which had to be changed to "The Wallflower" in order to get airplay. Over the years, she'd notch many more, carving a niche for herself with her husky, soulful voice and her sassy attitude, which permeated her songs.
But it was the jazz-inflected rendition of "At Last" that would come to define her and make her legendary. The song, which starts with sumptuous strings before James begins to sing, was a remake of a 1941 standard. James made it her own, and her version became the new standard.
But the tender, sweet song belied the turmoil that James - born Jamesette Hawkins in Los Angeles - would endure for much of her life. Her mother - whom she described in her 1995 autobiography "Rage to Survive" as a scam artist, a substance abuser and unstable - was a fleeting presence in her life during her youth. She never knew her father, although she had been told that he was the famous billiards player Minnesota Fats. When she was older, she met him and asked about the rumor. He wouldn't confirm or deny it: as James recalled, he simply told her: "I don't remember everything. I wish I did, but I don't."
She was raised by Lula and Jesse Rogers, who owned the rooming house her mother once lived in. The pair brought up James in the Christian faith, but rhythm and blues soon lured her away from the church, and she found herself drawn to the grittiness of the music.
"My mother always wanted me to be a jazz singer, but I always wanted to be raunchy," she recalled in her book. She was doing just that when bandleader Johnny Otis, who also died this week, found her singing on San Francisco street corners with a couple of girlfriends in the early 1950s. When Otis heard their rendition of "Roll With Me, Henry," he told James to get her mother's permission to accompany him to Los Angeles to make a recording. Instead, the 15-year-old went home and forged her mother's name on a note claiming she was 18.
After her 1955 debut, James toured with Otis' revue, sometimes earning only $10 a night. Things changed for the better in 1959, when she signed with Chicago's legendary Chess label and began cranking out the hits and going on tours with performers such as Bobby Vinton, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Everly Brothers.
Chess Records, whose founder, Leonard Chess, called James their first soul singer. Her professional success, however, was balanced against personal demons - drug addiction. "I was trying to be cool," she told the AP in 1995, explaining what had led her to try heroin. She was addicted to the drug for years, beginning in 1960, and it led to a harrowing existence that included time behind bars and sapped her singing abilities and her money, almost destroying her career. It would take her at least two decades to beat her drug problem - her husband even went to prison for years, taking full responsibility for drugs during an arrest, even though James was culpable.
After she hit rock bottom, she finally quit the habit and managed herself for a while, calling up small clubs and asking them, "Have you ever heard of Etta James?" in order to get gigs. Eventually, she got regular bookings - even drawing Elizabeth Taylor into an audience. In 1984, she was asked to sing the national anthem at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and her career got the resurgent boost it needed, though she fought addiction again when she got hooked on painkillers in the late 1980s. Drug addiction wasn't her only problem. She struggled with her weight, and often performed from a wheelchair as she got older and heavier. In the early 2000s, she had weight-loss surgery and shed some 200 pounds.
James performed well into her senior years, and it was "At Last" that kept bringing her the biggest ovations. The song was a perennial that never aged.
James did get her accolades over the years. She was inducted into the Rock Hall in 1993, captured a Grammy in 2003 for best contemporary blues album for "Let's Roll;" one in 2004 for best traditional blues album for "Blues to the Bone;" and one for best jazz vocal performance for 1994's "Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday."
She was also awarded a special Grammy in 2003 for lifetime achievement and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
RIP Johnny Otis -
December 28, 1921 to January 17, 2012. From our friend Bob Corritore:
Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes, who is best known as Johnny Otis, was one of the true bedrock figures of blues, rhythm & blues & early rock & roll. He died at age 90 at his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Altadena after years of decreasing health.
Johnny Otis did it all: singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, bandleader, talent scout, radio show host, television show host, label owner, nightclub owner, sculptor and painter, author, and he even had his own brand of apple juice! He had a vibrant personality, a sharp look, and the ability to get things done. He was an essential part of many of the greatest moments in rhythm & blues! As as white man of Greek decent, Otis truly embraced black culture, and very decidedly and successfully led his own black music movement. The huge list of his musical contributions show super-human qualities, and his amazing story is well told from Lee Hildrebrand words from Johnny’s own website:
“Johnny Otis was born December 28, 1921 in Vallejo, California. He grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood in Berkeley, California, where his father owned and operated a neighborhood grocery store. He began his musical career in 1939 as a drummer with Count Otis Matthew’s West Oakland House Rockers. In 1943, at the recommendation of Nat “King” Cole and Jimmy Witherspoon, he moved to Los Angeles to join Harlan Leonard’s Kansas City Rockets at the Club Alabam. By 1945 he was leading his own band, and had his first big hit that year with “Harlem Nocturne”. In 1948 he joined with Bardu and Tila Ali, and Johnny Miller to open The Barrelhouse in Los Angeles, which was the first nightclub to feature Rhythm & Blues exclusively. In 1950 he had ten songs that made the Top 10 on Billboard Magazine’s Best Selling Retail Rhythm & Blues Records list. With this success, he went on the road with his California Rhythm & Blues Caravan, and became the hottest musical attraction in black America. In the early 1950′s, remaining active as a writer, performer, and producer, Johnny began a radio career and became one of the most popular disc jockeys in southern California. His career in radio has now spanned almost 50 years. His early radio broadcast success led to a weekly variety show on television. “The Johnny Otis Show” was on TV in Los Angeles for eight years.
Johnny Otis discovered many legendary Rhythm and Blues singers such as Esther Phillips, Willie Mae “Big Momma” Thornton, Etta James, and the Robins (who evolved into the Coasters), all of whom were at one time featured vocalists in his band. He also discovered Sugar Pie DeSanto, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, Jackie Wilson, and Little Willie John. He produced, and with his band played on the original recording of “Hound Dog” with “Big Momma” Thornton. He produced and played on Johnny Ace’s “Pledging My Love”, and produced some of Little Richard’s earliest recordings. On his own Blues Spectrum label, Johnny has recorded and played with Rhythm & Blues pioneers such as Big Joe Turner, Gatemouth Moore, Amos Milburn, Richard Berry, Joe Liggins, Roy Milton, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Charles Brown, and Louis Jordan. Johnny played the drums on Charles Brown’s first major hit “Driftin’ Blues” in 1946. He also recorded with Illinois Jacquet, and Lester Young. One of the many highlights of his long career was when he performed as a drummer with the great Count Basie Orchestra.
In the 1960′s Johnny served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Mervin Dymally, whose career he followed from the State Assembly, State Senate, Lieutenant Governorship of California, to the U.S. Congress. His first book “Listen To The Lambs”, which addressed the 1965 race riots was published in 1968. His next book, “Upside Your Head! Rhythm & Blues on Central Avenue” was published in 1993. Many of his paintings, sculptures, and wood carvings are displayed in “Colors and Chords -- The Art of Johnny Otis” which was published in 1995. His most recent book, “Johnny Otis -- Red Beans & Rice and Other Rock ‘n’ Roll Recipes” was published in 1997.
Johnny Otis’s song writing credits include “Every Beat of My Heart”, (a song he wrote originally for Jackie Wilson, but was made a hit by Gladys Knight and the Pips), “Roll With Me Henry”, (also known as “The Wallflower”), “So Fine”, “Willie And The Hand Jive” (which sold over 1.5 million copies), and many, many others.
Johnny has been inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, into the Blues Hall of Fame and into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Archives of African American Music and Culture at the University of Indiana has cataloged hundreds of hours of his past radio shows for his interviews, comments, insights, and historical significance. He has remained active in his recording studio and has put out 6 CD’s on his label since the mid-nineties.”
One must also mention Johnny Otis’ son, Shuggie Otis who is a brilliant guitarist. Another observation is Johnny Otis’ appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival in the movie thriller Play Misty For Me starring Clint Eastwood. Another fun fact was Johnny’s disguised “adult party” album credited to Snatch and the Poontangs. We thank God for Johnny Otis and remember his brilliant and definitive contributions which will live on forever. His mark on the world leaves it a better place.
