Doin’ That Hand Jive With His Feet

When the Johnny Otis Show appears on stage, it brings years and years of rhythm and blues history with it.

There�s piano and vibes player Otis himself, who started out in the early 40�s as a drummer leading a swing jazz band, then moved into R and B after somebody Otis credits Roy Milton �accidentally� discovered that music. He soon became something of a musical catalyst, and the number of people Johnny Otis has introduced to us is nothing short of fantastic: Hank Ballard, Big Mama Willie Mae Thornton, Little Willie John, Jackie Wilson, Etta James, Little Esther . . . to name but a handful.