Commonly known as the “Godfather of Rhythm and Blues”, Johnny Otis was, among many things, an American singer, songwriter, and musician. And, in 1969, with his publication of ‘Listen to the Lambs’, he became an author. This is the book that I chose to first read for my honors project, as a look into the Watts Riots that took place in Los Angeles in 1965. Not only did Otis’ novel give me a glimpse back to that time period, but it also served as an interesting read about one man’s experiences in dealing with racism in America.
Despite being the child of Greek immigrants, Johnny always considered himself to be black – ‘environmentally, psychologically, culturally, emotionally, and intellectually’. There wasn’t one contributing factor to this, but rather the culmination of his life’s experiences. In the book’s preface, Otis writes, “As a kid I decided that if our society dictated that one had to be either black or white, I would be black.” He continues on life, as outlined in this book, feeling this way – he goes on to marry a black woman, plays with other black musicians, and lives in black neighborhoods. And, when the Watts Riots come about, you can guess who he sides with.
This novel evolved from a letter that Johnny Otis wrote about the riots to a friend. Within the book, this letter, along with a second one, is included, and you can feel the stark difference to his regular writing. The structure is all over the place, and dotted with ellipses, but the message gets through and is a very real and natural from of his expression. I feel that the inclusion of these personal notes made the book a stronger one. The rest of the book is a mixture of feelings and ideas – from outside accounts of the riots, to stories from his past, to his take on everything that has happened thus far.
To me, the most interesting (and relevant) parts of this book were those pertaining to the Watts Riots. Otis conducted interviews of those who took part in the riots, and put them – word-for-word – into this book. By sharing the telling of such a large and significant story, I think that you were really able to get a better understanding of the entire picture. He provided the interviews of five different individuals that experienced these riots, and each had a unique perspective on the incident. One segment told of a shop-owner who got arrested for no particular reason, while dropping of a mother at her home, while another tells of a reporter feeling conflicted. Read together, in conjunction to Otis’ writing, I found this section to be one of the more powerful and interesting ones. In addition, I really enjoyed Johnny’s description of Watts –
“Like any other spot on earth whose inhabitants are perpetually locked in mortal combat with poverty and affliction, Watts is shot through with visual evidence of its plight. And even when the blemishes and the squalor cannot be readily picked up by the eye, they can be felt. You can almost cut with a knife the rage that this imposed ugliness generates. In the more densely populated and consequently shabbier neighborhoods, this grim and unlovely emotion pervades the atmosphere like a noxious gas. But, on the other hand, in Watts, as in any other spot on the earth where the human spirit refuses to yield, there is a deep and startling beauty.”
Although the section about the Watts riots piqued my interest the most, I enjoyed the rest of the book, as well. Some of the parts fell a little flat, however – mostly where Otis is trying to be poignant and reflective. It just didn’t seem to fit his style of writing, necessarily. You can tell that he is a storyteller, and when he gets into his life experience, that’s when you really get involved. A good portion of his book contained his retelling of things that happened to him in the past, from his upbringing, to the discrimination he experienced and witnessed, to the music he created, to the life he lived. And all of it really captured and held my attention.
I ended up thoroughly enjoying this book, which is somewhat surprising because I really had no expectations for it. I didn’t know who Johnny Otis was prior to the book, and, while the book painted a beautiful picture of his beginnings, it didn’t really get into when he became well-known. When I looked the author up after, and learned of all his achievements (e.g. he discovered Etta James), the book became all the more impressive. All in all, I think that ‘Listen to the Lambs’ really gave me a good understanding of the Watts Riots, as well as the time period.
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