Shuggie Otis is a musician’s musician, a reclusive genius from Los Angeles whose name has been spoken in reverential tones by his peers for more than four decades. After a long absence, Shuggie returns as a concert headliner on “The Shuggie Otis Rite” tour with dates in Europe followed by a rare appearance at the Echoplex in Los Angeles on December 5. Tickets went on sale November 3, 2012.
Although an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Shuggie is best known for writing “Strawberry Letter 23,” a #5 Pop hit for The Brothers Johnson in 1977. He has also garnered praise for his guitar skills on projects with Al Kooper, Frank Zappa, Etta James, and Bobby “Blue” Bland, among many others. Several songs from Inspiration Information have been sampled on pop hits such as Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson,” Beyonce’s “Be With You” and “Gift From Virgo,” and the list goes on. Under Shuggie’s personal supervision, his highly-acclaimed third and final solo album, 1974’s Inspiration Information, will be released as a double-CD set on April 16, 2013, through Epic/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.
Inspiration Information / Wings of Love will feature the original Inspiration Information album alongside four previously-unreleased bonus tracks on disc one, while the second CD, titled Wings of Love, is an unreleased followup album which includes 14 unreleased live and studio tracks recorded by Shuggie between 1975 and 2000. A complete tracklisting for both discs will be released in the weeks to come.
Read more: All About Jazz