LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Johnny Otis, singer of the 1958 hit "Willie and the Hand Jive", has died in California at the age of 90. Otis died on Tuesday in the Los Angeles suburb of Altadena, his friend ...

Otis had several R&B hits in the early '50s, and in 1958, his record "Willie And The Hand Jive" made it to the top 10 of the rock 'n' roll chart. Although Otis is a pioneer of R&B and played almost ...

To the world, Johnny Otis was the rhythm-and-blues music pioneer who wrote the classic 1958 hit, "Willie and the Hand Jive." But to the people who knew Otis for the dozen years that he lived and ...

Otis, who died in 2012, started out leading a big band. Later, as a talent scout, he discovered such performers as Big Mama Thornton, Esther Phillips and Etta James. Originally broadcast in 1989. This ...

The choice put him on a path to a life in music during which he created the sensually pulsing 1958 hit 'Willie and the Hand Jive.' It also gave him a deep connection to black culture that helped him ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Johnny Otis, who made the R&B classic "Willie and the Hand Jive" and evangelized black music to white audiences as a bandleader and radio host, has died in California at 90. His ...

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Today, we continue our archive series R&B, rockabilly and early rock 'n' roll. Before Elvis Presley recorded "Hound Dog," it was recorded by Big Mama Thornton. The ...

Otis, who died in 2012, started out leading a big band. Later, as a talent scout, he discovered such performers as Big Mama Thornton, Esther Phillips and Etta James. Originally broadcast in 1989.