If the name Shuggie Otis by itself isn't enough to compel you to listen to this song, I’m not sure my writing will be of much import to you. But I’m willing to try anyway, because if you decide not to listen the disservice is to yourself. For starters, a little bit of background should be established - Shuggie is the son of Johnny Otis, famous musician and first employer of Shuggie’s impeccable instrumental talent. Shuggie has drawn comparison throughout his career to Prince and to Jimi Hendrix, though much more obscure than either of them. He never reached stardom in the eye of the public, but his peers respected him: he turned down offers to play with Prince, The Rolling Stones, and David Bowie to name a few. What he did do was combine styles and elements of the older bluesmen like his father and Robert Johnson and Elmore James with that of the more modern psychedelic rock guitar players like Hendrix. The outcome is just about the closest thing you may ever hear to a guitar speaking a human language.
So far, all I have done is talk about Shuggie himself and not about the track. That’s because this track is the embodiment of the Shuggie Otis swagger, the gripping appeal of an electric twang that drips off metallic strings and slips in to your soul. This song has bourbon and sex appeal in between each played note, mistaken for the length of eighth or quarter or half measures by the untrained ear. It’s not a track heavy on lyrics because that would be redundant - the music already says it all. The mood could be romantic, violent, morose, laid back, or full throttle and it wouldn't matter: this song would have two cents to contribute.
You can learn more about Shuggie Otis here:
About The Curator - Jake Greenstein
Jake Greenstein is a student, a rapper, a basketball lover, and an avid music fan. He loves movies, books, stand-up comedy, and would be happy to debate Jordan versus Lebron, the top five rappers dead or alive, The Beatles versus The Stones, Veganism versus the Standard American Diet, or basically anything else. Jake was born and raised in Tampa, Florida.
