And he won't fade away, either.
Johnny Otis, ‘Godfather of Rhythm and Blues,’ Dies at 90
Johnny Otis, the musician, bandleader, songwriter, impresario, disc jockey and talent scout who was often called “the godfather of rhythm and blues,” died on Tuesday at his home in Altadena, Calif. He was 90.
(snip)
With a keen ear for talent, he helped steer a long list of performers to stardom, among them Etta James, Jackie Wilson, Esther Phillips and Big Mama Thornton — whose hit recording of “Hound Dog,” made in 1952, four years before Elvis Presley’s, was produced by Mr. Otis and featured him on drums.
At Mr. Otis’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, Ms. James referred to him as her “guru.” (He received similar honors from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation and the Blues Foundation.)
Mr. Otis was also a political activist, a preacher, an artist, an author and even, late in life, an organic farmer. But it was in music that he left his most lasting mark.
W/Shug & Roy Buchanan
Here's Shuggie, all grown up.
and a whole lotta Johnny Otis' peeps. Post '
em if ya got 'em.
That Johnny & Etta would exit together is poetic. I can see them rockin' Heaven together joyfully.
Rock in peace.