Rhythm and blues legend Johnny Otis, 90
Photo credit: MCT/Los Angeles Times | A 1985 file photo of blues and gospel band leader and preacher Johnny Otis with his paintings and sculptures in the background. Otis penned the 1958 hit "Willie and the Hand Jive."
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Notable deaths of 2011
Johnny Otis, the "godfather of rhythm and blues" who wrote and recorded the R&B classic "Willie and the Hand Jive" and for decades evangelized black music to white audiences as a bandleader and radio host, has died.
He was 90.
Otis, who had been in poor health for several years, died at his home in the Los Angeles foothill suburb of Altadena on Tuesday, said his manager, Terry Gould.
Otis,...
