Johnny Otis - Johnny Otis Show: Vintage 1950's Broadcasts from Los Angeles

First things first: this isn't exactly a Johnny Otis record, even though some of the tracks are by him or The Johnny Otis Band. It's actually a compilation based around air checks and live broadcasts from 1950s radio and television shows in which Otis was the radio DJ, host, and/or one of the performers. It's confusing, indeed, to try to describe as a soundbite sentence in a record review, particularly as it also includes actual records (taken from the masters, not from the tapes of the broadcasts) that Otis played on his shows by the likes of Billy Ward & The Dominoes, Kip Tyler & The Flips, Don & Dewey, and Larry Williams -- not to mention ads, too, and even a 30-second radio spot from the early '60s by Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills endorsing Otis' candidacy for California state assembly. Read More