What happens when you take a Hendrix-esque guitar prodigy, add a healthy dose of Marvin Gaye inspired soul, and blend both with the dark psychedelic rock of Pink Floyd? The answer is the mysterious Shuggie Otis, a hit songwriter and L.A. funk legend whose work has influenced Frank Ocean, J Dilla, OutKast, and many many more.

A musical prodigy, he was playing with his father by the time he was 13 and displayed an uncanny mastery of the blues guitar. He wrote "Strawberry Letter 23," a gold single for the Brothers Johnson that went to number one on the R&B charts and number five pop in the spring of 1977. You may have heard it sampled by the likes of Girl Talk, Justice, and XXYYXX. Although the song reached its peak success under the Brothers Johnson, Otis originally penned the song for his 1974 gem of an album on Epic Records, Inspiration Information. Fun fact: after the release of Inspiration Information in '74, a little band called The Rolling Stones asked Shuggie to join them as a guitarist on their upcoming world tour. He declined. Boss status.

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On August 9th, WXPN welcomes Shuggie Otis for a rare Philadelphia appearance at The Blockley with local support from Mutlu. Tickets for this 21+ event are $25 and can be purchased online at Ticketfly. Doors open at 7:30pm and the show will go until 2:00am. If you consider yourself a fan of R&B, funk, soul or if you're just looking to discover some great music, then you owe it to yourself to come to The Blockley on August 9th for what is sure to be an unforgettable performance from this extremely talented act.