Johnny Otis and Etta James

There were two notable deaths in the R&B world in the past few days, so I wanted to pay my respects to the fine talents of Johnny Otis and Etta James.

In the case of Otis, I suspect that far more people have read of his passing that have heard any of his records. So I transferred several of his early singles, which (amazingly) I found in my almost completely uncatalogued 78 collection.

From a 1952 Jet Magazine issue

Otis was a combination bandleader and impresario. He had a keen eye for talent, and his vocalists included Little Esther (heard here), Linda Hopkins, Big Mama Thornton and in the mid-50s, Etta James.

Otis began recording with the Los Angeles labels that came to life in the post-war years. Here we have several items from his year (1951) with Newark's Savoy records, showing a variety of R&B styles of the era. "All Nite Long" has his own vocal, and both song and singing were inspired by Louis Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry."

From Jet Magazine

Little Esther is heard on entirely conventional "Get Together Blues" and the Vocaleers on "Chittlin Switch," with a proto-rock & roll riff backing and an oddly retro Sam Nanton-style trombone solo. Otis also jumped on the nascent mambo craze with his "Mambo Boogie."

There are also a few sides from Otis' male singer, Mel Walker - the blues "New Love" on Savoy and "Baby Baby Blues" on Mercury, which the bandleader joined in 1952. The latter is another side with a classic rock & roll riff backing. The flip of "Baby Baby Blues" is another blues, "Call Operator 210." Here the gimmick is that Walker is calling his girlfriend.

None of these recordings is extraordinary, but they show the popular R&B styles of the day, and they are all vividly recorded, showing the fine results that late-era 78s could deliver.

Different from Johnny Otis' music, I suspect that most people will have heard Etta James - at least "At Last," her greatest hit, which achieved considerable popularity in recent years. "At Last" comes from 1960 and is transferred from my original (and somewhat worn) pressing on the American Argo label. It's a fine performance from a powerful singer, but I believe part of the success of the record is due to the superb, moody arrangement by the Chicago-based musician Riley Hampton.

"At Last" is one of the several R&B hits that originated with Glenn Miller recordings. (Others: "Blueberry Hill" and "In the Mood".) I thought you might want to compare and contrast the Miller version from the film "Orchestra Wives" with the James recording. This has vocals by Ray Eberle and the wonderful - and almost completely unknown - Pat Friday. If you haven't heard it, please listen below.

At Last (Glenn Miller)