Johnny Shuggie Otis (born Johnny Alexander Veliotes Jr.; November 30, 1953)[5][6] is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Otis is the son of rhythm and blues musician, bandleader, and impresarioJohnny Otis, who was of Greek descent, and his wife Phyllis Walker, who was of African American and Filipino descent.[7][8] The name "Shuggie" (short for "sugar", according to his mother) was coined by Phyllis when he was a newborn. Otis began playing guitar when he was two years old and performing professionally with his father's band at the age of eleven,[9] often disguising himself with dark glasses and a false mustache so that he could play with his father's band in after-hours nightclubs.[citation needed]
Otis is primarily known as a guitarist and also sings and plays a multitude of other instruments. While growing up with and being heavily influenced by many blues, jazz and R&B musicians in his father immediate circle, Otis began to gravitate towards the popular music of his generation such as Jimi Hendrix, Arthur Lee (of the band Love), and Sly Stone.[citation needed]
In 1969, Al Kooper asked Otis to be the featured guest on the second installment (Kooper Session) of the Super Session album series that 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. After returning to Los Angeles, Otis, along with his father and singer Delmar "Mighty Mouth" Evans, performed on the album Cold Shot (by the elder Otis), released in 1969 on the Los Angeles-based Kent label. Another obscure album this three-man team recorded was the extremely rare and risque Snatch & The Poontangs, on which Otis recorded tracks under the pseudonym "Prince Wunnerful".[citation needed]
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 every musical instrument on the album, except for horns and some strings. Inspiration Information had but one single (the title track) reach the Billboard Hot 100. 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's only credited works throughout the mid-1970s were done as a session musician for his father's recording projects.
Inspiration Information gained a cult following during the 1990s with the emergence of rare groove and acid jazz.[citation needed] It was lauded by such musicians 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 nine 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.
Otis and Sony Music Entertainment made a deal for a double CD which was released on April 20, 2013. It is a re-release of Inspiration/Information. Added to the album are several bonus tracks, including an accompanying album entitled Wings of Love. Wings of Love is an album of previously unreleased material, all of which was written from 1975 to the present, including live material from some of his performances. It will be available on Shugiterius records (Otis's company) and Sony records, through Sony Music Entertainment.
Otis and a band entitled Shuggie Otis Rite toured internationally in 2013 in support of the release, including Australia, Japan, the U.S., Ireland and the U.K.[10] Their performances earned rave reviews from critics.[11][12][13]
A new, mostly instrumental, album was released in April 2018 titled Inter-Fusion.
Personal life
Otis had a son named Johnny III, known as Lucky Otis, with his first wife Miss Mercy of The GTOs, an all-girl group produced by Frank Zappa. Soon after his first marriage ended, he married Lillian Wilson (known as Teri), daughter of trumpeter/bandleader/Latin-jazz pioneer Gerald Wilson; they had a son, Eric, naming him after Eric Dolphy, who was one of Gerald's bandmates and close friends.
Both of Shuggie's sons, Lucky and Eric, are musicians. Eric has played and toured in his father's band. Lucky, a bassist, began by playing with his grandfather, Johnny Otis, and then launched a solo career, heading his own group Otis Ledbetter with partner Louis Ledbetter, great-grandson of blues musician Lead Belly. He has also fronted a 13-piece rhythm-and-blues orchestra, The New Johnny Otis All-Stars, continuing his grandfather's Big Band legacy.
World Psychedelic Classics 2: California Soul... Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information (2001), Luaka Bop Records Reworking and reissue of Shuggie's 1974 album Inspiration Information.
In Session: Great Rhythm & Blues (2002), Golden Lane Records
"Strawberry Letter 23" sampled by DJ Quik for the track "Dollaz + Sense" from the album Safe + Sound (1995).
"Aht Uh Mi Hed" sampled by Beginner (band) for the track "Liebes Lied" from the album Bambule (1998).
"Strawberry Letter 23" sampled by OutKast for the track "Ms. Jackson" from the album Stankonia (2001).
"Strawberry Letter 23" sampled by Beyoncé for the track "Be With You" from the album Dangerously in Love (2003).
"Rainy Day" sampled by Beyoncé for the track "Gift from Virgo" from the album Dangerously In Love (2003).
"Oxford Gray" sampled by RJD2 for the track "Ring Finger" from the album Since We Last Spoke (2004).
"Not Available" sampled by J Dilla for the track "Donuts (Outro)" and "Welcome to the Show" from the album Donuts (2006).[15]
"Sweet Thang" sampled by Criolo for the track "Demorô" from the album "Ainda Há Tempo" (2006).
"Oxford Gray" sampled by The Alchemist for the track "B.I.G T.W.I.N.S" from the album The Grimey Collection (2008).
"Aht Uh mi Hed" sampled by Kapu (Venezuelan producer) for the track "Uno por ellas" from the album "Apa y Can" (2013).
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References
↑ Breen, Mike (October 2, 2013). "On 'Point". CityBeat. Retrieved July 28, 2023. Progressive Soul cult hero Shuggie Otis headlined the Washington Park stage
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