Upside Your Head! Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue

by Johnny Otis, George Lipsitz (Contributor)

A passionate memoir by legendary bandleader and musician Otis, who recalls the sheer joy and energy of the blues--and the stifling ugliness of racism. During Otis' 50-year career, he encountered, discovered, or performed with every significant figure in the early days of R&B and rock and roll. 75 illustrations.

Genres: Music

174 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

About the author

Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, vocalist, talent scout, disc jockey, record producer, television show host, visual artist, preacher and civil rights activist.

Reviews

[Jack Wolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

L.A. music scene legend Johnny Otis-- who discovered, produced, played with, wrote for, or fathered maybe half of the Black musical talent of the mid 20th century-- wrote this memoir after an invitation from Wesleyan press, who presumably wanted him to talk about rhythm and blues. And Johnny does talk about music, of course, mostly in little vignettes about his friends hanging out and shooting the shit. But in the aftermath of the LAPD's savage beating of Rodney King and the subsequent unrest in his community, Johnny would clearly much rather discuss America, and race, and racism, and how his reminiscing on the past finally makes him sad: "Could I have dreamed back in the forties that half a century later my people would still be trapped and oppressed?"

Hardly a chapter goes by in "Upside Your Head" (as in, a THWACK across the pate of white America, to get them to wake up) without Otis exploding into a full-fledged rant. It's awesome. His prose style is cutting and direct, and his politics have aged shockingly, horribly well. A Greek American bandleader born before my grandparents who identified as Black for most of his life should simply not be talking in the 90s with greater indignation and authority on injustice than, say, the leaders of our country's ostensibly "liberal" party, today.

I'm just gonna turn over the rest of the review to him, because he's fucking killing it all book. God bless Johnny Otis, and Shuggie Otis, and FUCK JOE BRANDON:

A racist president arrives in Los Angeles after the rioting and insults us by declaring he has come to learn. Just imagine... the Willie Horton president... the elected leader of the most advanced country in the world claims he is ignorant about racial injustice and has to learn about the most malignant social cancer in our society. If that isn't insulting, it is surely pathetic.

The old saying goes, we get exactly what we deserve when he elect people to office, but I woldn't wish a Reagan or Bush on a dog. What we deserve in America is a powerful visionary. Some strong and principled woman or man who will lead us out of the quagmire of racism and economic inequity. We need a president who can show the American people that corporate fascism and racial injustice will destroy the nation, and we need to advance programs to eliminate both.

Mort Sahl once said, "We know that communism doesn't work, but what about capitalism?" What we have in America is predatory capitalism. We are told we live under a free enterprise system but, not so. We may feel good about calling it free enterprise but Conspiracy of the Rich and Greedy is a more accurate description. The average white American is a victim of predatory capitalism's conspiracy too, but people of color have an extra demon to cope with in racism.

The racists in the U.S. government send billions in aid to Europe and Israel but say "to hell" with the American citizens languishing in the inner-city ghettos. Common sense should tell us to take care of our own first, but instead we are preoccupied with funneling our tax dollars to white countries overseas. In the process, the United States is building "good will" (it thinks) in Poland, Rumania, Israel, Russia, and the like. But time will tell how much "goodwill" U.S. dollars will buy in Eastern Europe and Israel.

Me again: PRESCIENT, eh??? Oh here's one bonus bit on cops:

Anyone who lives in the poorest sections of the city knows that many of the police who patrol their areas function as predators on the prowl. This has nothing to do with containing lawlessness or keeping the peace. It is an evil game. A skin game. You don't have to be involved in criminal activity to become a punching bag. Just be there and be Black. Everyone knows there are criminal enterprises operating in parts of the ghetto. The fact that we have ghettos explains why we have crime. The ghettos also contain uncared-for sick, crushing poverty, crumbling schools, undernourished children, and abject hopelessness.

Any drug dealer who is busted runs the risk of going to prison. But before he ever gets to court, he runs the risk of being beaten to a pulp. For that matter, so does any law-abiding Black citizen.

Me again: Police shootings of civilians reached record highs in 2023, and shootings of unarmed citizens are currently skyrocketing in Los Angeles. What does Biden say about this? "We want to fund the police!"

UPSIDE YOUR HEAD, INDEED

[Steve Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly not the definitive history of Rhythm & Blues in the usual sense. Upside Your Head is more a series of essays by one of the founding band leaders of the genre, with topics ranging from artist profiles and war stories of life on the road to pointed observations of police brutality and racism against the black community. Some of Otis' comments about racism and income inequality written in 1993 sound remarkably like a Bernie Sanders stump speech from 2016 or 2020.

[Tad Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important memoir of a crucial and under-reported time and place in American music. Otis's point of view is particularly important, because he was there, and because he reports as both an insider and and outsider. Otis was born white, and never denied that, but he lived in Black America and adopted it as his own. He understands the music and the racial climate, and reports it honestly.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting book author was well known R&b performer DJ and talent scout twlls about R&b in L.A.

[Ronn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know that Johnny Otis was almost as much about politics as he was about music, but it seemed like two thirds of the book was politics. For a book with the subtitle 'Rhythm & Blues on Central Avenue', I expected a lot more about music.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preach it, brother! Right on!!!