The musician, songwriter, producer, DJ, talent scout and author was credited with helping to create a new sound in the early '50s that later evolved into rock 'n' roll. By THR Staff Johnny Otis, the ...

R&B legend Johnny Otis died January 17 at the age of 90. As a performer, producer, radio host and talent scout, Otis had a significant hand in shaping early Rhythm and Blues and Rock ‘n’ Roll music.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...