Shuggie Otis

Johnny Shuggie Otis (born Johnny Alexander Veliotes Jr.; November 30, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist.

Otis's composition "Strawberry Letter 23" as recorded by The Brothers Johnson topped the Billboard R&B chart and reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977. He achieved commercial success with his 1974 single "Inspiration Information" (from the album of the same title), reaching No. 56 on the R&B chart.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Otis is the son of rhythm and blues musician, bandleader, and impresario Johnny Otis (1921–2012), who was of Greek descent, and his wife Phyllis Walker (1922–2016), who was of African American and Filipino descent. 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, often disguising himself with dark glasses and a false mustache so that he could play with his father's band in after-hours nightclubs.

Otis is primarily known as a guitarist, but he sings and plays many other instruments. While growing up with and being heavily influenced by many blues, jazz and R&B musicians in his father's immediate circle, Otis began to gravitate towards the popular music of his generation such as the music of Jimi Hendrix, Arthur Lee (of the band Love), and Sly Stone.

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".

Otis released his first solo album later that year entitled Here Comes Shuggie Otis on Epic Records. Guest musicians on his debut included Johnny, Leon Haywood, Al McKibbon, Wilton Felder. This further established his reputation and catapulted him to the attention of B. B. King, who was quoted in a 1970 issue of Guitar Player magazine saying Otis was his "favorite new guitarist". Some of the artists Otis performed and recorded with during that time include Frank Zappa (having played electric bass on the instrumental, "Peaches en Regalia" from the 1969 album Hot Rats), Etta James, Eddie Vinson, Richard Berry, Louis Jordan, and Bobby 'Blue' Bland, among many others.

The album Otis received the most recognition for was his second Epic Records release in 1971, Freedom Flight, which featured his hit "Strawberry Letter 23". Both the album and single reached the Billboard Top 200 and the Billboard Hot 100, respectively and caught the attention of Brothers Johnson guitarist George Johnson, who then played it for producer Quincy Jones. They covered the song and it became a hit. Even though Otis played most of his own parts in the studio, the lineup on this album was quite extensive, including keyboardist George Duke and Aynsley Dunbar of Frank Zappa, Journey and Whitesnake fame.

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 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 have Quincy Jones help produce Otis's next album. After a series of similar refusals, Otis gained a reputation for hesitancy or reluctance in taking on work, 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.