An excellent collection of postwar work from those years when Johnny Otis was a key force in R&B on the west coast – both instrumentals and tracks with vocals by Mel Walker, Ada Wilson, Joe Swift, and The Vocaleers! LP, Vinyl record album

Classic Savoy Records 78s from Johnny Otis – with work from his whole large group of performers – including Little Esther, The Robins, Jimmy Rushing, Mel Walker, Preacher Lee Graves, and Redd Lyte! LP, Vinyl record album

Includes 77 tracks on 3 CDs, plus a 45 page booklet with notes, rare photos, and discography. CD

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Later work from the great Johnny Otis – but a set that still keeps the vibe of his classic material – with Johnny on vocals, vibes, and piano – plus Shuggie Otis on guitar, and vocals from Barbara Morrison, and Delmar "Mighty Mouth" Evans! LP, Vinyl record album

A great second volume of pivotal episodes of The Johnny Otis Show from Ace Records and a compilation that represents two eras of Johnny Otis! On With The Show starts out by continuing the story of his late 50s and early 60s R&B years – then segues hard into his grittier funk-honed style of the late 60s and early 70s. The first half starts out right where Vol 1 left off – tracing his good-natured, rollicking R&B. Fittingly, this half of the set effectively ends with '61's "Hand Jive One More Time" and the next track, '67's "Keep The Faith", shows a remarkable transition in style to groove heavy soul and funk. It's all great – be it his charismatic riffs on the Bo Diddley beat that so characterized the "Hand Jive" era, to the ribald funk of "Signifying Monkey" and beyond. 24 tracks in all and featuring a great set of notes. Titles include "Good Golly", "The Jelly Roll", "The New Bo Diddley", "Let's Love It Up", "Banana Peels", "The Watts Breakaway", "Cold Shot", "Country Girl", "I Got The Walkin' Blues", "Cuttin' Up", "Jaws", "Bye Bye Baby (Until We Meet Again)" and more. CD

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A blues album, but one with a difference – thanks to some tremendous help from the legendary Johnny Otis and his young son Shuggie! Despite the fact that the leader is billed as Guitar Slim Green, Shuggie actually plays some lead guitar on the record too – adding in some cool, complicated solos that point towards his genius to come as a solo act – and which also get some nicely romping rhythms from Johnny on drums! The Otis family was definitely bringing a lot of funk into their sound at the time, which they share plenty with Slim here – helping to make the record way more than just another late 60s rootsy blues session, and instead a great west coast criss-crossing of modes. Titles include "Shake Em Up", "My Little Angel Child", "5th Street Alley Boogie", "Old Folks Blues", "This War Ain't Right", and "Big Fine Thing". Also features two bonus tracks, both unissued – "My Marie" and "Rock The Nation". (Blues, Soul) CD

An insanely wonderful album! Shuggie Otis is the son of Johnny Otis – the LA R&B maestro who was moving heavily into funk at the end of the 60s – and he has this tripped out, super-dope guitar style that he played to strong effect on Johnny's albums of the late 60s and early 70s, and on his first two solo albums, which were kind of bluesy in tone. For this album, though, he shocked the world by moving into a stripped-down mode that pairs his guitar with spare drum machine rhythms, flanged-out deeply soulful vocals, and one of the most laidback conceptions of funk you'll ever hear. The album's a landmark – one of those gems that's unlike anything else you can think of, but which will redefine your concept of what you want in a record for years to come. Every track's a winner – and the whole thing's a perfectly unified batch of tunes that includes instant classics like "Inspiration Information", "Island Letter", "Aht Uh Mi Hed", "XL 30", and "Rainy Day". Plus, this reissue features 4 tracks from Shuggie's Freedom Flight LP – including his original version of "Strawberry Letter 23", and "Sweet Thang", "Freedom Flight", and "Ice Cold Daydream". CD

A classic album of bluesy funk – one that features the guitar of Johnny Otis' young son Shuggie, in a slightly tighter setting than he'd been getting on some of Johnny's own LPs! Shuggie here is still very much under the guidance of his dad – working in a mode that really emphasizes the fuzzier side of his guitar, in a style that was clearly an attempt to hook Shuggie up with the Hendrix audience. Not that that's a problem, though – as the record also features some stone funky playing too, as well as organ work by Leon Haywood, sax by Preston Love, and some other great studio work by members of The Crusaders! Tracks include "Hurricane", "Shuggie's Boogie", "Bootie Cooler", "Funky Thithee" and "The Hawks". LP, Vinyl record album

The first 2 Shuggie Otis albums on one CD – and with bonus material, too! Shuggie's well known for his trippy guitar work and vocals on the famous album Inspiration Information, and both of these sets predate that one – showing Shuggie in his formative years, stepping off some early work with his father Johnny Otis, and forging a messed-up mixture of soul, funk, and blues that forever made him one of the odder talents of his generation! Here Comes Shuggie Otis is more of a blues-driven effort, but still has some great guitar work from young Shuggie – but on Freedom Flight, he really takes off. The album's really the birthplace of Otis' psychedelic funky style, and is filled with cool little tracks that groove in a cosmically trippy way! The CD features the tracks "Oxford Gray", "Ice Cold Daydream", "Strawberry Letter 23", "Freedom Flight", "Purple", "Someone's Always Singing", "Sweet Thang", "Me & My Woman", "Funky Thithee", and "The Hawks" – plus the bonus cut "One Room Country Shack". CD

An insanely wonderful album! Shuggie Otis is the son of Johnny Otis – the LA R&B maestro who was moving heavily into funk at the end of the 60s – and he has this tripped out, super-dope guitar style that he played to strong effect on Johnny's albums of the late 60s and early 70s, and on his first two solo albums, which were kind of bluesy in tone. For this album, though, he shocked the world by moving into a stripped-down mode that pairs his guitar with spare drum machine rhythms, flanged-out deeply soulful vocals, and one of the most laidback conceptions of funk you'll ever hear. The album's a landmark – one of those gems that's unlike anything else you can think of, but which will redefine your concept of what you want in a record for years to come. Every track's a winner – and the whole thing's a perfectly unified batch of tunes that includes instant classics like "Inspiration Information", "Island Letter", "Aht Uh Mi Hed", "XL 30", and "Rainy Day". LP, Vinyl record album

An insanely wonderful album! Shuggie Otis is the son of Johnny Otis – the LA R&B maestro who was moving heavily into funk at the end of the 60s – and he has this tripped out, super-dope guitar style that he played to strong effect on Johnny's albums of the late 60s and early 70s, and on his first two solo albums, which were kind of bluesy in tone. For this album, though, he shocked the world by moving into a stripped-down mode that pairs his guitar with spare drum machine rhythms, flanged-out deeply soulful vocals, and one of the most laidback conceptions of funk you'll ever hear. The album's a landmark – one of those gems that's unlike anything else you can think of, but which will redefine your concept of what you want in a record for years to come. Every track's a winner – and the whole thing's a perfectly unified batch of tunes that includes instant classics like "Inspiration Information", "Island Letter", "Aht Uh Mi Hed", "XL 30", and "Rainy Day". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent early work from Little Johnny Taylor – not to be confused with the bigger-name singer on Stax! The title's a bit of a misnomer, given that Little Johnny Taylor wasn't the biggest hitmaker of the 60s – but the album's a killer batch of his best work for the Galaxy label – work that's definitely the "soul full of blues" promised in the title! The style here's a bit like Bobby Blue Bland at his best – bluesy, but with a much more sophisticated feel overall, and certainly some jazz phrasing that comes in from time to time – all to push Johnny much more into the soul side of the spectrum for the 60s. There's almost an Otis Redding feel at times – and the backings by Ray Shanklin certainly show a Memphis influence. Titles include "Part Time Love", "Help Yourself", "If You Love Me Like You Say", "One More Chance", "I Smell Trouble", and "Somebody's Got To Pay". LP, Vinyl record album

A nicely gritty little set – recorded with a small combo in LA – featuring Johnny Walker on piano, organ, and vocals – plus Earl Hooker on guitar, Otis Hale on electric tenor sax, and Paul Humprhey on drums! (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

2 of Johnny Guitar Watson's best albums ever – back to back on a single CD! First up is Listen – quite possibly the rarest of all Johnny Guitar Watson albums – and his first from the 70s – a mindblowing batch of trippy soul tunes that sounds far different than much of his later work! Johnny's not yet in the funky mode here – and he's working in a very cool flanged-out approach that has his vocals tripping lightly with his guitar – in a spacious soul mode that captures some of the energy of Shuggie Otis at the time. The overall sound is incredibly righteous – and the album's a delight throughout! Titles include "Lovin You", "If I Had The Power", "You Bring Love", "I Get A Feeling", and "You're The Sweetest Thing I've Ever Had". I Don't Want To Be Alone Stranger is sublime mid 70s work from Johnny Guitar Watson – a Bay Area blend of soulful production, jazzy playing, and bits of bluesy phrasing, with a hard-to-match quality that we'd put in the same camp as work by Shuggie Otis from the time. Johnny's vocals and guitar are amazing – very laidback and trippy, without all the silly stuff that you sometimes get on later records. "I Don't Want To Be A Lone Ranger" is a great stepper with a jazzy finish and a really catchy hook – and other good cuts include "Lonely Man's Prayer", "You Make My Heart Want To Sing", "Tripping", "Strong Vibrations", and "It's Way Too Late", a reworking (and real steal) of a song from Jon Lucien's great "Rashieda" album! CD

An obscure late 60s session that has R&B genius Roy Milton fronting a small group led by Johnny Otis, and featuring a young Shuggie Otis on guitar! The set's packaged in a "roots of rock" sleeve to cash in on the kids, but it's a pretty nice little set with a stoner R&B sound. Johnny wrote a number of tracks – like "Hush", "Whiskey Drinkin Woman", and "Charleston Boogie" – and the group reprises some of Roy's standards like "So Tired", "Early In The Morning", and "RM Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Blue belles with attitude, and plenty of soul as well – a sweet collection of west coast female R&B from the postwar years – put together with the usual top-shelf standard we expect from Ace Records! And although R&B, the tunes here almost have an early soul sound at points – deep, heartfelt vocals that definitely lay the groundwork for southern soul and other styles to come in the 60s. All the work here comes from the vaults of Modern/RPM Records – and in addition to some key sides from the late 40s and 1950s, the package also features some unreleased treasures that easily stand head-to-head with the commercially released tracks on the set. The CD features 28 tracks in all – 23 on this format for the first time ever – and as usual with Ace, the booklet's a wealth of information, label scans, and vintage photos. Titles include "Mr T 99" by Del Graham, "Two Years Of Torture" by Edna Broughton, "I Ain't In The Mood" by Helen Humes, "I'm Tellin You Baby" by The Nic Nacs, "That's Fat Jack" by Jimmy Lee & Artis, "Nightmare Blues"by Mari Jones, "Be Bop Boogie" by Effie Smith, "Lonely Girl" by Cordella De Milo, "Mean Ole Gal" by Esther Jones with Johnny Otis, and "Vivianne's Boogie" by Vivianne Green. CD

With selections by Bobby Freeman, The Clovers, Fats Domino, The Rivingtons, Johnny Darrow, The Everglades, Robert Parker, Human Beinz, The Beach Boys, The Silhouettes, The Five Keys, The Roller, The Senors, Johnny Otis, and The Larks. (Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A funky party all the way through – and the one and only album we've ever seen from Johnny Otis main tenor player in the 60s! The set's got a vibe that's much funkier than some of Johnny's own records of previous years – and really shows that looser, more open style he was bringing to his ensemble at the time – and in addition to Preston's tenor, the set's also got work by a young Shuggie Otis – who's really wailing with some trippy licks on guitar! The overall feel is very much in the funky 45 mode – and most cuts are instrumentals, occasionally with a bluesy twist – and one number – "Cool Ade" – has a hip call-response vocal that's mighty nice! Other titles are equally sweet – and include "Hoe Cakes & Sorghum", "Cream Dream", "Neck Bones", "Chili Mac", and "Pot Likker". LP, Vinyl record album

Music by Jimmy Witherspoon, Lloyd Glenn, Big Joe Turner, Johnny Otis, Lowell Fulson, Charles Brown, Jimmy McCracklin, the Nightengale Jubalaires, and Dusty Brooks – 24 tracks total. (Blues, Soul) CD

20 tracks over 2 records – Gene Vincent, Sam Cooke, Peggy Lee, Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, Johnny Otis, Cilla Black, Nelson Riddle, Beau Brummels, Gene Chandler, Billy Bland, Bobby Freeman, and more! (Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Nasty nasty funk from the great Bo Diddley – one of his rare funky 70s classics for Chess – produced by Johnny Otis with a really tripped-out groove! The album's got an edge that seems to go even farther than some of Bo's other Chess work at the time – and picks up the full-on Otis funky mode by leaning hard on the drums, pulling up the bass, and bringing in a trio of female lovelies to back up Bo on vocals! Gloria Scott's one of the vocalists on the album, and Shuggie Otis even joins in on the funky party with some sweet guitar! But even with all this help, Bo's still the star of the story – and his massive chugging approach to guitar is moving full steam ahead on the set – really ripping a groove through a great batch of original tracks that include "Take It All Off", "I've Had It Hard", "Good Thing", "Bad Trip", "Infatuation", "Bo Diddley-Itis", "Woman", and "Look At Grandma". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Little Richard, Dee Clark, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Lloyd Price, Chuck Berry, Big Al Downing, Otis Redding, Johnny Otis, LaVern Baker, Mister PT, and more CD

Features work by Charles Brown, Pee Wee Crayton, Erskin Hawkins, Johnny Otis, Otis Rush, T-Bone Walker, Junior Parker, Albert King, and others! (Blues, Soul) CD

28 tracks by Jimmy McCracklin, The Cheaters, Snookum Russell, Johnny Otis, Professor Longhair, The Sly Fox, Wynonie Harris, and more... CD

Music from The Downbeats, The Scamps, The Dappers, Four Dukes, Ted Taylor, Buddy Ace, The Clefs, Chester McDowall, Junior Ryder, Johnny Otis Orchestra, Kenneth Deal, Sonny Woods And His Downbeats, Buddy Ace, and more - 26 tracks in all. CD

Seminal soul from one of Chicago's greatest labels in the 60s – the One-Der-Ful/Mar-V-Lus imprints, plus tracks from related Toddlin Town too – home to some of the best indie work at the time! The quality here is right up there with the best you'd hear from Chess, Okeh, or Brunswick in the 60s – no surprise, since the pair of labels shared lots of similar talents with the bigger companies – as well as session men, songwriters, and producers too! The full scope of Chicago soul is really covered here – upbeat groovers for the dancefloor, heartfelt ballads with great harmonies, and some of the harder-edged bluesy numbers that really helped put One-Der-Ful on the map! There's also some key early examples of funk – proof that in the 60s, Chicago was one of the hippest scenes in the world – and the set comes with 2 CDs, nestled in a hardback booklet of notes and photos – with a whopping 50 tracks in all. Titles include "Tired Of Being Lonely" by The Sharpees, "Without You" by The Ulti-Mations, "That's How It Is" by Otis Clay, "Keep On Dancin" by Alvin Cash, "The Funky Judge" by Bull & The Matadors, "I Get A Groove" by Thomas East & The Fabulous Playboys, "Damper Down" by Bobby Davis, "The Town I Live In" by McKinley Mitchell, "Come Back Home" by Beny Turner, "Master Key" by Harold Burrage, "If I Could Live My Life All Over" by Dorothy Prince, "You Told A Lie" by Johnny Sayles, "New Girl" by The Accents, and "Don't You Worry" by Joe & Mack. CD