{"title":"Johnny Otis","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"listen-to-the-lambs-book-johnny-otis-9780816665310","title":"Listen to the Lambs","description":"A rediscovered landmark in African American political and popular history    In the summer of 1965, the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts exploded in a race riot that spanned six days, claimed thirty-four lives, and brought America’s struggle with racial oppression into harrowing relief.       For Johnny Otis, “Godfather of Rhythm and Blues,” the events of that summer would inspire one of the most compelling books to ever explore that fateful August in Watts. Originally published in 1968, Listen to the Lambs grew from a letter Otis wrote to an expatriate friend during the days following the riots. Otis moves back and forth between Watts and his own childhood to reveal an alternate history of the riots.     Equal parts memoir, social history, and racial manifesto, Listen to the Lambs is a moving witness of collective turmoil and a people for whom the long-promised American Dream was nowhere to be found.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49569380958481,"sku":"GOR012539601","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50440656355601,"sku":"CIN0816665311VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50956006490385,"sku":"CIN0816665311G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":53358299742481,"sku":"NGR9780816665310","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0816665311.jpg?v=1764844928"},{"product_id":"upside-your-head-book-johnny-otis-9780819562876","title":"Upside Your Head!","description":"An intriguing memoir by the legendary bandleader.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49589875474705,"sku":"GOR009827129","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49894954828049,"sku":"CIN0819562874G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51008367657233,"sku":"NIN9780819562876","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0819562874.jpg?v=1751043797"},{"product_id":"red-beans-and-rice-book-johnny-otis-9780764903618","title":"Red Beans and Rice","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49601018626321,"sku":"GOR013333137","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49614598537489,"sku":"GOR005277996","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50950337986833,"sku":"GOR011704390","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0764903616.jpg?v=1751395210"},{"product_id":"rock-me-baby-the-mercury-and-peacock-sides-1950-55-cd-5013929480926","title":"Rock Me Baby: The Mercury and Peacock Sides 1950-55","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49693802070289,"sku":"DVDB000LC51ROVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B000LC51RO.jpg?v=1751288613"},{"product_id":"new-johnny-otis-show-with-shuggie-otis-cd-0014551472629","title":"NEW JOHNNY OTIS SHOW WITH SHUGGIE OTIS","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49694751981841,"sku":"DVDB0000009XSVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B0000009XS.jpg?v=1750970129"},{"product_id":"with-the-r-b-caravan-vol-1-1945-1950-french-import-cd-3540131600627","title":"With The R\u0026B Caravan Vol. 1 1945 - 1950 [French Import]","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49696484851985,"sku":"DVDB00005QTI2VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B00005QTI2.jpg?v=1750971331"},{"product_id":"the-essential-recordings-cd-0805520091602","title":"The Essential Recordings","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49705324904721,"sku":"DVDB00N4FTJR8VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B00N4FTJR8.jpg?v=1750691321"},{"product_id":"thousand-honey-creeks-later-book-johnny-otis-9780819563200","title":"A Thousand Honey Creeks Later","description":"Preston Love's resume reads like a Who's Who  of American music: member of the Count Basie Band during its heyday in the 40s, studio musician in Los Angeles, cohort of Jo Jones, Lester Young, Ray Charles, and Dizzy Gillespie, and back-up player for Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder. In this autobiography Love shows that, while the music centers of New York, New Orleans, Chicago, and Kansas City nurtured the development of those uniquely African American forms, jazz and the Motown sound, significant contributions were also being made by territory bands tirelessly performing in outposts like St. Cloud, Minnesota, Guthrie, Oklahoma, and Honey Creek, Iowa.  It was in the latter town where Love, a 15-year-old from the black ghetto of Omaha, made his musical debut. Captivated by the sweet alto sax sounds of Earle Warren, Love took up the instrument and within a decade was sitting in Warren's chair. But Love's personal odyssey is more than a chronicle of endless bus rides, bad crowds in backwater clubs, and feast-or-famine finances endured en route to the top. In a distinctive and passionate voice he outlines significant facets of African American history: the central importance of the family in musical development, institutional racism in American popular culture, and the interracial nature of the music world. He also describes the growth of the music industry, especially Motown, what he calls \"the powerful colossus from Detroit.\" Love's story, told with uncanny memory and unfailing honesty, provides an important view into the career of a musician and the evolution of a major musical form.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50369262780689,"sku":"CIN081956320XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/081956320X.jpg?v=1750818652"},{"product_id":"willie-the-hand-jive-cd-5033107157723","title":"Willie \u0026 the Hand Jive","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51596012290321,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51596012519697,"sku":"DVDB000088E10VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51596012585233,"sku":"DVDB000088E10LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B000088E10.jpg?v=1750692349"},{"product_id":"upside-your-head-book-johnny-otis-9780819552631","title":"Upside Your Head!","description":"Legendary jazzman Johnny Otis has spent a lifetime at the center of L.A.'s black music scene as a composer, performer, producer, d.j., activist, and preacher. His energetic, anecdotal memoir, Upside Your Head  Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue, recalls the music, the great performers, and the vibrant culture of the district, as well as the political and social forces -- including virulent white racism -- that have shaped black life in Los Angeles. Resonating with anger, poignancy, joy, and defiance, Upside Your Head  is a unique document of the African-American musical and cultural experience. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUpside Your Head  recalls a 50-year career when it seems Otis either encountered, discovered, or performed with every significant figure in the early days of rhythm \u0026amp; blues and rock 'n' roll, including Count Basie, Esther Phillips, T-Bone Walker, Big Mama Thornton, and Lester Young. Drawing on dozens of vignettes, personal photographs, and hours of taped interviews from the popular Johnny Otis Show, Upside Your Head  offers a moving tribute to the black community that gave birth to L.A.'s rhythm and blues. His stories celebrate the true roots in black culture of a distinctive American music while lamenting its eventual appropriation by the dominant white society.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51718002016529,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51718002147601,"sku":"CIN0819552631VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52071655473425,"sku":"CIN0819552631G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":52074130833681,"sku":"CIN0819552631A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0819552631.jpg?v=1751043794"},{"product_id":"the-johnny-otis-show-live-cd-5099747467424","title":"The Johnny Otis Show Live","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53040988127505,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53040988258577,"sku":"DVDB00005LYZ6VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/5099747467424.jpg?v=1768858854"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-johnny-otis.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}