Pullin’ ‘Tubes: Shuggie’s Boogie – Shuggie Otis on Fallon

An easy way to put it is that Shuggie Otis is this year’s version of Rodriguez. While there are certainly a number of similarities and parallels between the two artists, Otis’ story has a lot more close brushes with fame when he was originally recording music, than Rodriguez ever did. The son of Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer Johnny Otis, Shuggie was a child guitar protege, who began playing as a member of his dad’s band starting at age 12. In 1969, at the age of 15, Al Kooper recruited him to be featured on the second installment of his Super Session albums, while later that year he released his debut album Here Comes Shuggie Otis – which showcased his funkified blues guitar playing. In addition to his solo work Otis continued to tour and record with his father, as well as continuing his work as a studio musician playing with the likes of Etta James, Louis Jordan, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Frank Zappa. With Zappa, Shuggie Otis played electric bass on the Hot Rats track Peaches En Regalia.

It’s Otis’ 1971 record Freedom Flight where he really came into his own, offering up a record of psychedelic soul and funk, and featured his most recognizable tune, Strawberry Letter 23, which was turned into a number one hit by The Brothers Johnson in 1977. It took Otis nearly three years to record the follow up Inspiration Information, an album on which he played nearly every instrument, but failed to make an impact with, despite it becoming a crate-diggers favorite in the years following. Shortly after the record’s release Shuggie was approached by Billy Preston, who was tasked by the Rolling Stones to ask him to be their guitarist on their upcoming world tour, as a replacement for Mick Taylor.

Otis, who declined the offer, as well as Quincy Jones’ to produce his next album, was later dropped by his record label and played session man on a handful of records before seemingly drifting into obscurity. It was the Luaka Bop’s 2001 re-release of Inspiration Information, that also featured tracks from Freedom Flight, which renewed interest in Otis. After a bit of a disastrous comeback attempt over a decade ago, Otis will release a double-album this Tuesday that features an expanded version of Inspiration Information, as well as his first album of new material in forty years with Wings Of Love. Otis, who was profiled in the New York Times this weekend, stopped by The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon to perform Inspiration Information, with the help of The Roots. Let’s check it out…

Shuggie Otis recently kicked off a tour that brings him to Chicago for a pair of shows Lincoln Hall.