Johnny Otis

One of the granddaddies of rhythm & blues, Johnny Otis led a West Coast big band that launched numerous careers (including those of Etta James and Esther Phillips). Otis's band wasn't just a launchpad for others, however; Otis scored big with "Harlem Nocturne" in 1945, then left his indelible imprint on the world of bar bands by writing "Willie and the Hand Jive."