Personnel: Johnny Otis (vocals, piano); Marie Adams, Mel Williams,

Marci Lee (vocals); Jimmy Nolan (guitar); Jack Kelso (alto, tenor & baritone

saxophones); Fred Harmon (tenor & baritone saxophones); Don Johnson, Paul Lopez (trumpet); Ernie Freeman (piano); Curtis Counce (bass); Earl Palmer (drums).

Producer: Tom Morgan.

Compilation producers: Ben Vaughn.

Includes liner notes by Ben Vaughn.

In addition to his achievements as a producer, nightclub owner, TV-show host, and talent scout (responsible for discovering Big Mama Thornton, Jackie Wilson, and Etta James, among others), Johnny Otis also led his own band. Raw, bluesy, and infectiously catchy, Otis's music chugs along on that delicious 1950s middle ground between R&B and rock & roll. THE CAPITOL YEARS collects 24 classic Otis tracks, including "Willie and the Hand Jive." With its Bo Diddley beat and infamous accompanying dance, the tune is Otis's most enduring contribution to rock & roll history

Though Otis scored most of his chart hits before his tenure with Capitol, the rest of the tracks here are up to the quality of "Willie and the Hand Jive." Rumbling beats, twangy guitars, and wailing sax solos of "Can't You Hear Me Callin'," "Castin' My Spell," and "Hum-Ding-a-Ling," for example, push all the right rock & roll buttons. The vocal help Otis gets from Marie Adams, Mel Williams, and Marci Lee, and the contributions by his cadre of fine backing musicians, lend sparkle to this set of rollicking good-time music.