Shuggie Otis -

Shuggie Otis is an American R&B musician, songwriter, and producer who released three albums between 1970 and 1974 on Epic. His 1971 album Freedom Flight contains the original “Strawberry Letter 23,” a later hit for the Brothers Johnson. His work enjoyed a 21st century resurgence following the reissue of his third album, Inspiration Information, noted for its blend of post-psychedelic and proto-electronic sounds.

Background

He was born Johnny Alexander Veliotes Jr. on November 30, 1953, in Los Angeles; the son of Greek-American blues bandleader Johnny Otis and his Afro-Filipino wife, Phyllis Walker, who nicknamed her son “Shuggie” (short for “sugar”).

Shuggie picked up a guitar at age two and joined his father’s band at age eleven. As a minor in the adult nightclubs, he concealed his age with dark glasses and a false mustache. Through his father’s circle, Shuggie absorbed two decades of blues, jazz, and R&B. As a teenager, Shuggie fused these influences with the soul-psych innovations of his contemporaries (Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone).

Kooper Session

In late 1968, keyboardist Al Kooper summoned Otis (then aged fifteen) to New York for a followup to Super Session, Kooper’s recent collaboration with Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills.

Recorded in one weekend, Kooper Session (aka Super Session, Vol. II) appeared in 1969 on Columbia. Otis co-wrote the final three tracks: “12:15 Goonbash Blues,” and the self-referential numbers “Shuggie’s Old Time Dee-Di-Lee-Di-Leet-Deet Slide Boogie” and “Shuggie’s Shuffle.”

Albums with Johnny Otis

Back in Los Angeles, Suggie partook in sessions for Cold Shot!, a 1969 album by the Johnny Otis Show with singer Delmar “Mighty Mouth” Evans. Cold Shot! appeared on Kent Records (US) and Sonet (UK) with violinist Don Sugarcane Harris on two tracks. On the front cover, an afro-haired Shuggie (ascot, flower pins) flashes a peace sign next to his father (straw hat) and Evans (paisley top, round rims), who both raise their fists.

Concurrently, the trio masqueraded as Snatch & The Poontangs, which cut an album of adult-comedy tunes with titles like “The Great Stack-a-Lee,” “The Pissed-Off Cowboy,” and “Two Girls In Love (With Each Other).” Snatch & The Poontangs appeared in 1969 on Kent in a gatefold with an illustrated nudist riot on the inner-gates. Shuggie appears under the pseudonym Prince Wunnerful.

Elsewhere, Shuggie played bass on “Peaches en Regalia,” the opening track on Frank Zappa‘s 1969 album Hot Rats, which features Sugarcane Harris on the second track, “Willie the Pimp.” Johnny Otis produced Harris’s 1970 Epic Records release Sugarcane, which Shuggie co-arranged with his father. The father/son team also worked on Preston Love’s Omaha Bar-B-Q, the 1970 Kent release by Johnny’s longtime friend, jazz saxist Preston Love, a onetime member of the Count Basie Orchestra.

Meanwhile, Shuggie secured a multi-album deal with Epic.

Here Comes Shuggie Otis

Shuggie Otis released his debut album, Here Comes Shuggie Otis, on August 25, 1970, on Epic.

The album places vocal numbers and instrumentals inside brass, string, harpsichord, and organ arrangements. Johnny and Shuggie Otis wrote or co-wrote nine of the ten tracks; Johnny Otis wrote “Knowing (That You Want Him)” with Don Aldrich. Otis plays guitar, piano, harpsichord, organ, and celesta, backed by roughly twenty-five players, including bassist Wilton Felder, drummer Stix Hooper, bassist Al McKibbon, and reedist Plas Johnson.

“Oxford Gray” coils from harpsichord and electric guitar into pizzicato strings, bottleneck slide, and orchestrated brass. “Jennie Lee” glides under a tentative lead vocal, while restrained horns and strings line the verse before a dark-toned solo. “Bootie Cooler” lopes through organ figures and a clipped backbeat.

“Shuggie’s Boogie” rolls from spoken influence calls into a shuffle, with the lead line answering each bar in clipped phrases. “Hurricane” snaps hard accents against syncopated lead figures and short horn replies. “Gospel Groove” slows under sanctified piano while extended solo phrases lean across the cadence. “Baby, I Needed You” cruises on an organ-led verse and a prominent refrain before “The Hawks” struts through a loose closing instrumental.

A1. “Oxford Gray” (6:53) – J. Otis, Felder, S. Otis, Hooper
A2. “Jennie Lee” (2:15) – J. Otis, Felder, S. Otis
A3. “Bootie Cooler” (2:41) – J. Otis, S. Otis
A4. “Knowing (That You Want Him)” (2:35) – J. Otis, Aldrich
A5. “Funky Thithee” (3:15) – J. Otis, S. Otis

B1. “Shuggie’s Boogie” (4:30) – J. Otis, S. Otis
B2. “Hurricane” (2:15) – J. Otis, Felder, S. Otis
B3. “Gospel Groove” (4:10) – J. Otis, S. Otis
B4. “Baby, I Needed You” (4:00) – J. Otis, S. Otis
B5. “The Hawks” (2:22) – J. Otis, S. Otis

Johnny Otis produced the 1969 sessions with engineer Rafael O. Valentin. Epic issued Here Comes Shuggie Otis in a sleeve with photography by Ergo; the cover image shows Otis seated with a semi-hollow electric guitar. Epic issued “Hurricane” as an April 1970 single (b/w “Jennie Lee”). The album reached No. 199 on the Billboard album chart.

Freedom Flight

Shuggie Otis released his second album, Freedom Flight, in September 1971 on Epic.

The album presents a blues-based soul set with compact vocal songs on side one and long-form instrumental writing on side two. Otis wrote or co-wrote six of the seven tracks. Gene Barge wrote “Me and My Woman.” Otis sings and plays guitar, bass, organ, piano, drums, bells, bottleneck guitar, and tack piano.

Shuggie’s core session group includes Johnny Otis, Wilton Felder, keyboardist George Duke (organ, electric piano, celesta), and drummers Aynsley Dunbar and Mike Kowalski. The album also includes reedist Richard Aplanalp (tenor saxophone, oboe, flute), backing vocalist and harmonica player James “Supe” Bradshaw, and backing vocalists Venetta Fields, Clydie King, and Sherlie Matthews.

“Ice Cold Daydream” barrels on wah-wah organ and quick lead runs, with Otis clipping the vocal against a hard pace. “Strawberry Letter 23” glides through bells and celeste before arpeggiated guitar figures carry the refrain into distant solo phrases. “Sweet Thang” smolders from a country-twang figure into barrelhouse piano and chorus replies, with a contrapuntal bass line under the cadence. “Me and My Woman” lopes on wah-wah lead while Otis cuts the solo into sharp turns against blocky accents.

“Someone’s Always Singing” sways under background-vocal lift and late flute figures as the refrain settles into devotional repetition. “Purple” slows around smoky harmonica and after-hours lead phrases, then bends each cadence into a late-night close. “Freedom Flight” drifts from wind-chime hush into Fender Rhodes shimmer and saxophone interludes, with long lead phrases over an open cadence.

A1. “Ice Cold Daydream” (2:27) – S. Otis
A2. “Strawberry Letter 23” (3:57) – S. Otis
A3. “Sweet Thang” (4:05) – J. Otis, S. Otis
A4. “Me and My Woman” (4:15) – Barge
A5. “Someone’s Always Singing” (3:22) – Kahn, S. Otis

B1. “Purple” (7:05) – S. Otis
B2. “Freedom Flight” (12:48) – S. Otis

Johnny Otis produced Freedom Flight with engineers Bob Breault, George Beauregard, and Willie Greer. Breault mixed the album. Freedom Flight appeared in a sleeve designed by Anne Blackford Garner with photography by Ed Caraeff. Epic lifted “Ice Cold Daydream” as an October 1971 single (b/w “Strawberry Letter 23”).

Inspiration Information

Shuggie Otis released his third album, Inspiration Information, in October 1974 on Epic.

The album presents a self-contained studio set built from vocal tracks, short instrumentals, analog rhythm-box patterns, string passages, and low-volume electric-keyboard textures. Otis wrote all nine tracks and arranged the album. He plays guitars, bass, organ, piano, electric piano, vibraphone, percussion, and drums, joined by reedist Jack Kelso (saxophone, flute), horn player Jeff Martinez, harpist Carol Robbins, trombonists Doug Wintz and Jim Prindle, trumpeters Curt Sletten and Ron Robbins, and nine string players.

“Inspiration Information” glows around a bright title refrain, and Otis answers the vocal line with a clipped solo. “Island Letter” murmurs over a ticking machine and softly voiced lead before strings swell and the arrangement drops to an electric-piano close. “Sparkle City” struts from a brass-led intro into a direct vocal line, with short accents under the verse. “Aht Uh Mi Hed” shimmers over a Rhythm King tick and flute lift before an orchestral interlude breaks the line into a choppy coda.

“Happy House” clips the organ to the front and cuts the verse into stop-start accents. “Rainy Day” lingers on slow lead phrases inside a sparse, nocturnal chart. “XL-30” percolates through lounge-bright figures and tight rhythmic cells. “Pling!” whispers over a chugging rhythm box and quiet keyboards, holding the volume below the verse line. “Not Available” snaps through jangling lead and abrupt stops before sudden section bursts cut the close.

A1. “Inspiration Information” (4:07)
A2. “Island Letter” (4:40)
A3. “Sparkle City” (5:55)
A4. “Aht Uh Mi Hed” (4:14)

B1. “Happy House” (1:08)
B2. “Rainy Day” (2:39)
B3. “XL-30” (2:05)
B4. “Pling!” (4:24)
B5. “Not Available” (2:26)

Otis produced, arranged, and mixed Inspiration Information, with Johnny Otis as executive producer. Sessions occurred between 1971 and 1974 at Hawk Sound and Columbia Studios in Los Angeles, with recording engineers Bobby Bloom, Johnny Otis, Nicky Otis, and Robb DiStefano. Otis mixed the album at Hawk Sound and Kendun Recorders.

Inspiration Information appeared in a cover package designed by John Brogna with cover photography by Bob Seidemann and back-cover photography by Stephen Paley. Epic lifted “Inspiration Information” as a November 1974 single (b/w “Aht Uh Mi Hed”), which reached No. 56 on the U.S. R&B chart. Inspiration Information reached No. 181 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.

Post-1974 Career

After Inspiration Information, Otis declined a 1975 offer relayed by Billy Preston to join the touring lineup of the Rolling Stones. Otis lost his Epic deal soon after the album and started a fourth album without a new label contract. In 1977, the Brothers Johnson took “Strawberry Letter 23” to No. 1 on the Billboard soul chart and No. 5 on the Hot 100 chart, which gave Otis publishing income during his long release gap. Quincy Jones sought to produce him after the hit, but Otis rejected the arrangement because Jones wanted control of the sessions. Otis continued to record privately and sent tapes to record companies, but he rejected terms tied to outside production control.

During the next two decades, Otis appeared only intermittently on record. Epic/Sony issued the 1994 collection Shuggie’s Boogie: Shuggie Otis Plays the Blues, and Luaka Bop returned Inspiration Information to circulation in 2001 with the original album and four Freedom Flight tracks. Mos Def featured Otis on “Blue Black Jack” from the 2004 album The New Danger, and Otis played a related Los Angeles date with Mos Def at the Echoplex.

Epic/Legacy paired Inspiration Information with Wings of Love in 2013. The second disc gathered 14 previously unreleased live and studio tracks from 1975 through 2000, including “Special,” “Give Me Something Good,” “Don’t You Run Away,” and “Destination You!” Otis returned to the road with the Shuggie Otis Rite Tour, then issued Live in Williamsburg in 2014 and the mostly instrumental Inter-Fusion on Cleopatra Records in 2018.

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