Johnny Shuggie Otis (born Johnny Alexander Veliotes, Jr.; November 30, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist. Otis's composition "

Strawberry Letter 23 "Strawberry Letter 23" is a 1971 song written and composed by Shuggie Otis from his 1971 album '' Freedom Flight''. It is also widely known by the 1977 cover version recorded by the Brothers Johnson and produced by Quincy Jones. History The ...

" (as recorded by

The Brothers Johnson The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of American musicians and brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, ...

) topped the '' Billboard''

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and reached #5 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1977. He also achieved commercial success with his 1974 single "Inspiration Information" (from the album of the same title), reaching #56 on the R&B chart.

Biography

Born in Los Angeles, California, Otis is the son of

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

, musician, bandleader, and

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...

Johnny Otis, who was of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

descent, and his wife Phyllis Walker, who was of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

and

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

descent. The name "Shuggie" (short for "sugar," according to his mother) was coined by Phyllis when he was a newborn. Otis began playing guitar when he was two years old and performing professionally with his father's band at the age of eleven, often disguising himself with dark glasses and a false mustache so that he could play with his father's band in after-hours

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s. Otis, primarily known as a guitarist, also sings and plays a multitude of other instruments. While growing up with and being heavily influenced by many blues, jazz and R&B musicians in his father Johnny's immediate circle, Otis began to gravitate towards the popular music of his generation such as

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, Arthur Lee (of the band

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

), and

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

. In 1969,

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

asked Otis to be the featured guest on the second installment ('' Kooper Session'') of the '' Super Session'' album series that had previously included Stephen Stills and

Mike Bloomfield Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American guitarist and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his ...

. Kooper and the then-fifteen-year-old Otis recorded the whole album over one weekend in New York. Immediately returning to Los Angeles, Otis, along with his father and singer Delmar "Mighty Mouth" Evans, performed on the album ''Cold Shot'' (by the elder Otis), released in 1969 on the Los Angeles-based Kent label. Another obscure album this three-man team recorded was the extremely rare and risque ''Snatch & The Poontangs'', on which Otis recorded tracks under the pseudonym "Prince Wunnerful". Otis then released his first solo album later that year entitled '' Here Comes Shuggie Otis'' on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. Countless musicians were his guests on that debut attempt, including Johnny,

Leon Haywood Otha Leon Haywood (February 11, 1942 – April 5, 2016) was an American funk and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 1975 hit single "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You", which has been frequently sampled by ...

Al McKibbon Al McKibbon (January 1, 1919 – July 29, 2005) was an American jazz double bassist, known for his work in bop, hard bop, and Latin jazz. In 1947, after working with Lucky Millinder, Tab Smith, J. C. Heard, and Coleman Hawkins, he replaced ...

Wilton Felder Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as The Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Wan ...

. This further established his reputation and catapulted him to the attention of B. B. King, who was quoted in a 1970 issue of ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print si ...

'' magazine saying Otis was his "favorite new guitarist". Some of the artists Otis performed and recorded with during that time include

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

(having played electric bass on the legendary instrumental, "Peaches en Regalia" from the 1969 album '' Hot Rats''), Etta James,

Eddie Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and rhythm and blues, R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in whi ...

, Richard Berry,

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

, and

Bobby 'Blue' Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed Gospel music, gospel with the blues and Rhyt ...

, among many others. The album Otis received the most recognition for was his second

release in 1971, '' Freedom Flight'', which featured his hit "

". Both the album and single reached the ''Billboard'' Top 200 and the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, respectively and caught the attention of

Brothers Johnson The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of American musicians and brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, ...

guitarist George Johnson, who then played it for producer

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. They covered the song and it instantly became a smash hit. Even though Otis played most of his own parts in the studio, the lineup on this album was quite extensive, including keyboardist

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

and Aynsley Dunbar of

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

and

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

fame. In 1974, Otis released '' Inspiration Information'', his third and final album for Epic Records. The album had taken almost three years to finish. All the songs were written and arranged by Otis himself, who played every

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

on the album, except for horns and some strings. However, despite its long-awaited impact, ''Inspiration Information'' had but one single (the title track) reach the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. After the album's release, Otis was approached by

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

on behalf of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, asking him to join the band for their upcoming world tour. He declined the offer, along with the chance to work with Quincy Jones in helping produce Otis's next album. After a series of similar refusals, Otis gained the reputation of "taking his time", and his

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with Epic Records was nullified. Otis's only credited works throughout the mid-1970s were done as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

for his father's recording projects. ''Inspiration Information'' gained a cult following during the 1990s with the emergence of

rare groove Rare groove is music that is very hard to source or relatively obscure. Rare groove is primarily associated with funk, R&B and jazz funk, but is also connected to subgenres including jazz rock, reggae, Latin jazz, soul, rock music, northern soul ...

and acid jazz. It was lauded by such musicians as

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

and Lenny Kravitz. Due in part to this regained interest, the album was re-released on April 3, 2001, by

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

's independent label

Luaka Bop Luaka Bop is a New York–based record label founded by musician David Byrne, former lead singer and guitarist for the art rock– new wave band Talking Heads. What began with Byrne making cassettes of his favorite Tropicália tracks for his fri ...

Records. This CD re-issue includes all nine original album tracks plus four songs taken from Otis' 1971 album ''Freedom Flight'', and features new cover art, liner notes, and exclusive never-seen-before photos. Otis is featured in every one of his father Johnny's books, as well as ''Alligator Records Presents West Coast Blues'', issued in August 1998. Otis and Sony Music Entertainment made a deal for a double CD which was released on April 20, 2013. It is a re-release of ''Inspiration/Information''. Added to the album are several bonus tracks, including an accompanying album entitled ''Wings of Love''. ''Wings of Love'' is an album of previously unreleased material, all of which was written from 1975 to the present, including live material from some of his performances. It will be available on Shugiterius records (Otis's company) and Sony records, through Sony Music Entertainment. Otis and a band entitled Shuggie Otis Rite toured internationally in 2013 in support of the release, including Australia, Japan, the U.S., Ireland and the U.K. Their performances earned rave reviews from critics. A new, mostly instrumental, album was released in April 2018 titled ''Inter-Fusion''.

Personal life

Otis had a son named Johnny III, known as Lucky Otis, with his first wife Miss Mercy of

The GTOs ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, an all-girl group produced by

. Soon after his first marriage ended, he married Lillian Wilson (known as Teri), daughter of trumpeter/bandleader/Latin-jazz pioneer

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

; they had a son, Eric, naming him after

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...

, who was one of Gerald's bandmates and close friends. Both of Shuggie's sons, Lucky and Eric, are musicians. Eric has played and toured in his father's band. Lucky, a bassist, began by playing with his grandfather, Johnny Otis, and then launched a solo career, heading his own group Otis Ledbetter with partner Louis Ledbetter, great-grandson of blues musician

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...

. He has also fronted a 13-piece rhythm-and-blues orchestra, The New Johnny Otis All-Stars, continuing his grandfather's

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

legacy.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Here Comes Shuggie Otis'' (1970), Epic *'' Freedom Flight'' (1971), Epic *'' Inspiration Information'' (1974), Epic *''Inter-Fusion'' (2018),

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

Collaborations

With The Johnny Otis Show *''Cold Shot!'' (1968),

Kent Records Kent Records was a Los Angeles-based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. It was subsidiary of Crown Records Corporation. Kent was a follow-up to Modern Records which ceased operations in 1958. The label reissued Modern's singles, ...

*''Snatch & The Poontangs'' (1969), Kent Records *''Cuttin' Up'' (1970),

*''The Johnny Otis Show Live at Monterey!'' (1970), Epic Records *''The New Johnny Otis Show with Shuggie Otis'' (1981),

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

*''Into the Eighties'' (1984),

Charly Records Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. History Charly Records was founded in Fra ...

With

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

*'' Where It All Began'' (1972), Chess Records With

*'' Kooper Session'' (1969), Columbia Records With

Preston Love Preston Haynes Love (April 26, 1921 – February 12, 2004) was an American saxophonist, bandleader, and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska, United States, best known as a sideman for jazz and rhythm and blues artists like Count Basie and Ray Char ...

*''Preston Love's Omaha-Bar-B-Q'' (1969), Kent Records With Guitar Slim Green *''Stone Down Blues'' (1970), Kent Records With

* ''

Lomelin ''Lomelin'' is an album by the Gerald Wilson Orchestra of the 80's recorded in 1981 and released on the Discovery label.Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

*''

Peaches en Regalia "Peaches en Regalia" is an instrumental jazz fusion composition by Frank Zappa. It was released on Zappa's album ''Hot Rats'' in 1969 and has been recorded many times since. It was also released as a single in 1970, with "Little Umbrellas" as the ...

'' from the album '' Hot Rats'' (1969) With

Jimmy Vivino Jimmy Vivino (born January 10, 1955) is an American guitarist, keyboard player, singer, producer, and music director. He is best known as having been the leader of Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band, the house band for the TBS late night ...

*'' Violet In Blue'' from the album '' Novemberin''' (2008) With Mark Lotito *'' Novemberin''' from the album '' Novemberin''' (2008)

Compilations

*''Shuggie's Boogie: Shuggie Otis Plays The Blues'' (1994),

/ Legacy Recordings *''World Psychedelic Classics 2: California Soul: Inspiration Information'' (2001) (Rework and reissue of Shuggie Otis’ 1974 album Inspiration Information),

Luaka Bop Records Luaka Bop is a New York–based record label founded by musician David Byrne, former lead singer and guitarist for the art rock– new wave band Talking Heads. What began with Byrne making cassettes of his favorite Tropicália tracks for his fr ...

*''In Session: Great Rhythm & Blues'' (2002), Golden Lane Records *''Original Album Classics: Shuggie Otis'' (2013),

/ Legacy Recordings *''Wings of Love'' (2013), Sony Records / Legacy Recordings

Later samples

*"Island Letter" sampled by

Digable Planets Digable Planets () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987. The trio is composed of rappers Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Mariana "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, and Craig "Doodlebug" Irving. The group is notable for their contributions to the subgenre ...

for the track "For Corners" from the album ''

Blowout Comb ''Blowout Comb'' is the second studio album by American hip hop group Digable Planets, released October 18, 1994, on Pendulum/EMI Records. The album was written and recorded in Brooklyn, New York, where the group moved, with recording sessions be ...

'' (1994). *"Strawberry Letter 23" sampled by

DJ Quik David Marvin Blake (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper and producer, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, ...

for the track "Dollaz + Sense" from the album ''

Safe + Sound ''Safe + Sound'' is the third album by rapper/producer DJ Quik. It was released on February 21, 1995, on Profile Records. It peaked at number 14 on the ''Billboard'' 200 on March 11, 1995, number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart the same d ...

'' (1995). *"Aht Uh Mi Hed" sampled by

Beginner (band) Beginner (formerly Absolute Beginner) is a German rap group from Hamburg, consisting of Jan Delay (aka Eizi Eiz/Eißfeldt), Denyo and DJ Mad. Their fourth album, ''Advanced Chemistry'', was released in August 2016. Band history The group ...

for the track "Liebes Lied" from the album ''Bambule'' (1998). *"Strawberry Letter 23" sampled by OutKast for the track "Ms. Jackson" from the album ''

Stankonia ''Stankonia'' is the fourth studio album by American Hip hop music, hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on October 31, 2000, by LaFace Records. The album was recorded in the duo's recently purchased Atlanta recording facility Stankonia Studios, ...

'' (2001). *"Strawberry Letter 23" sampled by

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

for the track "Be With You" from the album '' Dangerously in Love'' (2003). *"Rainy Day" sampled by

for the track "Gift from Virgo" from the album '' Dangerously In Love'' (2003). *"Oxford Gray" sampled by

RJD2 Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as Soul Position, MHz Lega ...

for the track "Ring Finger" from the album ''

Since We Last Spoke ''Since We Last Spoke'' is the second studio album by American musician RJD2. It was released on Definitive Jux in 2004. ''Since We Last Spoke'' peaked at number 94 on the UK Albums Chart, as well as number 128 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. It ...

'' (2004). *"Not Available" sampled by

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...

for the track "Donuts (Outro)" and "Welcome to the Show" from the album ''

Donuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...

'' (2006). *"Sweet Thang" sampled by

Criolo Kleber Cavalcante Gomes, or Criolo (São Paulo, September 5, 1975), is a Brazilian singer, rapper, songwriter and actor, four times nominated to the Latin Grammy Awards. With a career starting in 1989, he was originally known in Brazil as the cr ...

for the track "Demorô" from the album "Ainda Há Tempo" (2006). *"Oxford Gray" sampled by

Alchemist Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscience, protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in Chinese alchemy, C ...

for the track "B.I.G T.W.I.N.S" from the album ''The Grimey Collection'' (2008). *"Aht Uh mi Hed" sampled by Kapu (Venezuelan producer) for the track
Uno por ellas
from the album
Apa y Can
(2013).

References

External links

Shuggie Otis' official website

Shuggie Otis Biography
on the

website *
Shuggie Otis Interview for Echoes Magazine 2012
- requires Google login
The Mystery of Shuggie Otis
by ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

''
A concert review on Quooklynite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otis, Shuggie 1953 births Living people African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers American blues guitarists American blues pianists American male pianists American blues singers American funk bass guitarists American funk drummers African-American drummers American funk guitarists American funk singers American multi-instrumentalists Record producers from California American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American soul guitarists American male bass guitarists American soul singers Blues drummers Blues rock musicians People from Sonoma County, California Soul drummers Singer-songwriters from California American people of Greek descent American musicians of Filipino descent Guitarists from Los Angeles 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American pianists American blues drummers 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians African-American songwriters African-American pianists 21st-century African-American musicians American male singer-songwriters