by Robert Wilkinson
December 28 was the birthday of five major musical talents, each a legend in their own right! For your dancing pleasure, we send out a big happy to four of them, Johnny Otis, Edgar Winter, Earl Hines, and Alex Chilton.
We begin with the remarkable Johnny Otis (December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012). Johnny Otis died 13 years ago after a career that spanned almost 60 years. Known as "the Godfather of Rhythm and Blues," he did everything from big band to boogie woogie to rock and roll. He discovered Etta James, Jackie Wilson, Hank Ballard, and Little Willie John, and produced the original recording of "Hound Dog" by Big Mama Thornton. For those things alone we all owe him big time (not to mention that he's also the father of Shuggie Otis!) Heeeere's Johnny!
One of the early standards of rock and roll done by hundreds of artists, here's Johnny Otis performing his monster hit on his tv show, "Willie and the Hand Jive."
I found it again! It’s the entire 27 minute episode on KTLA in 1959 featuring Lionel Hampton on The Johnny Otis Show. For your enjoyment, The Johnny Otis Show on KTLA
He had himn on a few times. Here are a couple of clips of Lionel on the show. ”It’s You.” and ”The Nearness of You.”
We’ll close this segment with Lionel giving us “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If it ain’t got that swing!).”
Here’s a great video clip from the early 70s with Johnny Otis, Shuggie Otis, and Roy Buchanan in a blistering performance of “Sweet Home Chicago” and “Bye Bye Baby”
Set to stills, the 1945 single of Johnny Otis doing the classic "Harlem Nocturne."
From The Johnny Otis Show in 1959, here's the original single of Johnny's composition "Telephone Baby."
Also from a 1959 single, Johnny Otis ripping off his own composition, coming up with "Castin my spell"
Johnny Otis doing a funky instrumental a la the late 50s and early 60s called "The Hash."
We'll close today with one from a loooong time ago, featuring some cool jazz via Johnny and his orchestra, composed of some cats from Count Basie's band. For your enjoyment, "Jimmy's Round the Clock blues."
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From here we give a very Merry and Happy everything to Edgar Winter (December 28, 1946). Brother of blues guitar Master Johnny Winter, Edgar has been a major player in his own right.
First, Edgar's huge hit! From The Midnight Special tv show in 1973, here's the Edgar Winter Group doing a 9+ minute live performance of "Frankenstein."
From that same year, a great video of Edgar on keyboards with Rick Derringer on screaming lead in his major hit ”Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo"
Here's Edgar doing a live version of another of his smash hits, "Free Ride"
From Denmark in 1970, Edgar and Johnny doing a great live performance of "Fast Life Rider."
From 1988 in Tennessee with Leon Russell, Edgar showing off his sax chops cranking out the classic "Harlem Nocturne."
From Rockpalast in 2007, Edgar doing a live performance of "Tobacco Road." From the same show, Edgar and his brother Johnny doing smoking slide guitar on the Dylan classic, "Highway 61 revisited"
We'll close with a great live audio-only recording from March 1970 of Edgar and his brother Johnny doing a 15 minute version of "Tobacco Road."
For our encore, an album Edgar Winter’s White Trash did with brother Johnny and guitar slinger Rick Derringer! This is live at the Apollo. Roadwork
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And now, we celebrate the birthday of Jazz Piano Master Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983). He mentored a bunch of the greats, and was integral to the sounds created by Louis Armstrong, Billy Eckstine, Nat "King" Cole, Charlie Parker, and Duke Ellington, who said that "the seeds of bop were in Earl Hines's piano style."
From Wikipedia, "Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one major source, is 'one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz.'"
A little more: "On 28 December 1928 (so on his 25th birthday and 6 weeks before The Saint Valentine's Day massacre) the flashily-dressed and always-immaculate Hines opened at Chicago's Grand Terrace Cafe leading his own big-band, the pinnacle of jazz ambition at the time. "All America was dancing", Hines said - and for the next 12 years and through the worst of the Great Depression and Prohibition Earl Hines was "The Orchestra" in The Grand Terrace." (It just so happened that Al Capone owned the Grand Terrace, so Earl was Al Capone's house band!)
Here's the Piano Man!
We start with a video of Earl performing live in Berlin in 1965! For your enjoyment, "Memories of You." From the same jazz workshop, here's Earl and Teddy Wilson doing one of my faves, the classic "All of Me."
Live in France in 1965, "Boogie Woogie On Saint Louis Blues"
The Earl Hines Band live at Jazztage Berlin, November 1970 performing “Easy To Love,” “I Feel So Smoochie,” “Flowers,” and “Things Ain't What They Used To Be”
From 1976 at Wolf Trap Park Jazz Festival, a live 15 minutes of pure performance gold! "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Deed I Do," and "Boogie Woogie on St. Louis Blues"
From the 1979 International Jazz Festival in Antibes, France, here’s a three part live performance!
Earl Hines Live at Antibes 1979 - Part 1
Earl Hines Live at Antibes 1979 - Part 2
Earl Hines Live at Antibes 1979 - Part 3
Now for some great studio recordings!
From September 1928, the studio recording of "Caution Blues."
From December 1928, the studio recording of "I Ain't Got Nobody"
From 1929, the studio recording of "Glad Rag Doll."
"Saint James Infirmary Blues."
From 1938, the Earl Hines Orchestra studio version of "Please Be Kind."
From 1939, “Rosetta”
From the Swing Era, here's Earl doing a great version of "Blue Skies."
Here's the studio version of "Blues in Thirds"
From the 1965 album, Live at the Village Vanguard, here's Earl in an audio-only live performance of "Lover come back to me"
With Budd Johnson wailing on sax, “Blues for Sale”
This year I found the missing tracks from the 1992 album Stephane Grappelli Meets Earl Hines and so have the complete offering by these two musical geniuses. They’re all audio-only, and great music!
Stephane Grappelli Meets Earl Hines – track 1 “Fine and Dandy”
Stephane Grappelli Meets Earl Hines – track 2 “Over the Rainbow”
Stephane Grappelli Meets Earl Hines – track 3 “Manhattan”
Stephane Grappelli Meets Earl Hines – track 4 “Moonlight in Vermont”
Stephane Grappelli Meets Earl Hines – track 5 “Memories of You”
Stephane Grappelli Meets Earl Hines – track 6 “There Will Never Be Another You”
Stephane Grappelli Meets Earl Hines – track 7 “I Can’t Get Started”
From The Giants album, Stephane Grappelli Meets Earl Hines – track 7 “I Can’t Get Started,” “You Took Advantage of Me,” and “Sometimes I’m Happy.”
We'll close this birthday celebration with something Earl did in 1969, "You Are Too Beautiful."
For our encore, the 1949 album Fine and Dandy
If you want to know more about this legend, I found a great 7 part biography!
Earl Hines – Jazz Legend Part 1
Earl Hines – Jazz Legend Part 2
Earl Hines – Jazz Legend Part 3
Earl Hines – Jazz Legend Part 4
Earl Hines – Jazz Legend Part 5
Earl Hines – Jazz Legend Part 6
Earl Hines – Jazz Legend Part 7
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Last but never least, we also celebrate the birthday of the great Alex Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010). Alex was the smoky lead vocal for the blue-eyed soul group from Memphis, the Box Tops. Here they are live at the Bitter End in 1967 performing their massive #1 hit from the 1967 “Summer of Love,” "The Letter."
From Upbeat in 1967, Alex sings to the original studio backing track while the rest mime. "The Letter."From 1968, the Box Tops live accompanied by a backing track performing their second 1967 hit “Neon Rainbow”
Here’s a video of their #2 million-selling third hit in 1968, live and lip-synched. "Cry Like A Baby."
Here’s the same video, but with another tacked on, obviously from one of “The Letter” taping sessions. . "Cry Like A Baby" and “Sweet Cream Ladies.”
Here’s a clip of The Box Tops live on The Mike Douglas Show actually performing “Turn on A Dream” and “Soul Deep”
From 1969, the audio-only studio version of their last hit (which sounds like it was written by Neil Diamond), “Soul Deep”
We’ll close with performances from the recent past. From 2009, toward the end of his life, here’s Alex and the Box Tops very live at the Hoboken Music and Arts Festival performing “Neon Rainbow.”
From the same Festival, here’s a live performance of “Cry Like A Baby,” and “Whiter Shade of Pale.”
We’ll close with the biggest hit, also at Hoboken, “The Letter.”
RIP Alex. Wish you had outlived your second Saturn return ...
So it's a big Happy Birthday to 4 great 20th Century talents spanning over 70 years of great music! Some of the best of all time....
© Copyright 2025 Robert Wilkinson
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