Search - Johnny Otis :: The Johnny Otis Rhythm & Blues Caravan: The Complete Savoy Recordings

Johnny Otis is best known for his 1956 rock & roll hit "Willie and the Hand Jive." But Otis--the son of Greek immigrants who chose to be personally and professionally identified as black--had enjoyed a successful career as a West Coast jazz drummer and R&B bandleader dating back to the mid-'40s. In 1950 alone, he scored three No. 1 R&B hits. This three-disc set collects all his recordings for Savoy between 1949 and 1952, as well as a handful of earlier sides, beginning with his 1945 version of "Harlem Nocturne." The set traces the evolution of Otis's style from big-band jazz toward earthier blues and R&B. "Little" Esther Phillips was featured on Otis's biggest hit, "Double Crossing Blues." Other lead singers in the ongoing Caravan (and on this collection) included Mel Waters (who recalls Charles Brown with a lighter vocal tone), the doo-wop group the Robins, and Linda Hopkins. Guitarist Pete Lewis, saxophonist Big Jay McNeely, and Otis himself on vibraphone are crucial instrumental contributors. Despite Rhythm and Blues Caravan's zoot-suit trappings, there is a dreamy innocence and humor to this music that's largely missing from contemporary R&B. There's also an endearing strangeness that served as a formative influence on the young Frank Zappa, among others. --Rick Mitchell