He and his beloved wife, Phyllis, were married for 71 years until Otis died of natural causes in Altadena, California on January 17, 2012. He presided over services there until the church closed in 1998. In 1975, Otis was ordained as a minister, and three years later, he founded the New Landmark Community Gospel Church in Santa Rosa, California. The 1965 Watts Riots inspired him to write “Listen to the Lambs,” a song about racial oppression and the plight of Black America. His activism appeared in his music, as well.
In 1979, Otis told the Los Angeles Times, “Yes, I chose, because despite all the hardships, there’s a wonderful richness in black culture that I prefer.” Even that did not deter him in continuing his support for the cause of equal rights. The Greek-American musician never lied about his actual roots yet, he was so widely seen as a Black American that one night in 1960, white racists burned a cross on his lawn. black community, including a condemnation of California’s segregated housing laws. He made appearances at sit-ins targeting segregated lunch counters, and wrote opinion pieces for the Los Angeles Sentinel about the problems of the L.A. It was only natural that Otis became a dedicated civil rights activist and, at some point, he even became friends with Malcolm X. He understood black culture better than the Greek culture of his family. As an R&B musician, he was surrounded by African-Americans. Living as a “black” man, Otis became part of a world he felt more comfortable in. Credit: Twitter/ iamchriswmsįor Otis, identity was more a matter of culture than color. Identifying more with African-American culture than his own Greek background led him to adopting a new name, believing that it sounded more black. Growing up in an African-American neighborhood, he spent his early years immersed in black culture and music. Johnny Otis an Activist for African-American rights
He was tragically shot dead by his father after a family altercation. The 1982 single Sexual Healing was the biggest hit of his career and was a chartbuster. His success reached great heights with the 1972 song What's Going On. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Blues Hall of Fame in 2017. American singer Marvin Gaye is one of the most successful black artists ever and his albums have sold in millions. Through the 1990’s and 2000’s, he continued touring and sporadically releasing albums. He reinvented himself once more in the 1980s, becoming a radio show host in California. In the early 1970’s, he started a Blues record label called Blues Spectrum.
In the late 1960’s, early Rock and Roll and R&B were becoming passe, and Otis made less and less music every year, both in the studio and on stage. He released a string of successful records as The Johnny Otis Orchestra (1948-1957) and he headlined “The Johnny Otis Show” from 1958 to 1969. Johnny Otis began his music career as a drummer and became a bandleader in the late 1940’s.
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